Pecten fumata (Scallop)

Scallops are bivalve molluscs with a central adductor muscle, larger and more developed than that of oysters because they are active swimmers. Scallops are a popular type of shellfish in both Eastern and Western cooking. Overfishing of sharks have increased ray numbers which feed on scallops, thus reducing populations already endangered by direct harvesting. Scallops are hermaphroditic; capable of switching sexes. Both sexes produce roe, whose coloring depends upon the parent’s (current) gender. Red roe is that of a female, and white, that of a male. Many paintings of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and fertility, included a scallop shell in the painting to identify her, e.g. Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.

Photo: Robert Whyte

Photo: Robert Whyte