![]() 1,017,664,416 visitors served. |
|
![]() Dictionary/ thesaurus | ![]() Medical dictionary | ![]() Legal dictionary | ![]() Financial dictionary | ![]() Acronyms | ![]() Idioms | ![]() Encyclopedia | ![]() Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
scallop |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.01 sec. |
|
scallop or pecten, marine bivalve bivalve, aquatic mollusk of the class Pelecypoda ("hatchet-foot") or Bivalvia, with a laterally compressed body and a shell consisting of two valves, or movable pieces, hinged by an elastic ligament. ..... Click the link for more information. mollusk. Like its close relative the oyster, the scallop has no siphons, the mantle being completely open, but it differs from other mollusks in that both mantle edges have a row of steely blue "eyes" and tactile projections. The rounded shells have radiating ribs with flared "ears" or "wings" at the hinge. Scallops are capable of swimming or leaping about by snapping their shells, which are controlled by a powerful adductor muscle, the only part of the animal that is eaten. Scallops are more common on the Atlantic coast than the Pacific. The common scallop is about 2 in. (5 cm) long. Found abundantly in shallow and offshore waters and in eelgrass and mud flats from Cape Cod to Texas, it is taken in large numbers around Long Island. The giant scallop, found in deeper waters from Labrador to New Jersey, attains a length of 5 in. (12.7 cm). Scallops are classified in the phylum Mollusca Mollusca (məlŭs`kə) ..... Click the link for more information. , class Pelecypoda or bivalvia, order Filibranchia, family Pectinidae. scallopAny of more than 400 species (family Pectinidae) of marine bivalves found worldwide, from the intertidal zone to deep waters. The two halves of the shell (valves) are usually fan-shaped, except for a winglike projection at either side of the straight hinge. The shells are 1–6 in. (2.5–15 cm) long. They may be smooth or ribbed and red, purple, orange, yellow, or white. Cilia filter microscopic plants and animals from the water and move them toward the mouth. Scallops swim by clapping the valves, propelling themselves forward. The muscle that closes the valves is a popular food item.
|
|
? Mentioned in |
|---|
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Browser extension |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|
|---|