Pecten maximus, common names the great scallop, king scallop, St James shell or escallop, is a northeast Atlantic species of scallop, an edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pectinidae. This is the type species of the genus. This species may be conspecific with Pecten jacobaeus, the pilgrim's scallop, which has a much more restricted distribution.
Pecten maximus
Right valve
Left valve
Live individual of Pecten maximus on the right, next to Ostrea edulis
Scallop is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families within the superfamily Pectinoidea, which also includes the thorny oysters.
Scallop
A live opened scallop showing the internal anatomy: The pale orange circular part is the adductor muscle; the darker orange curved part is the "coral", a culinary term for the ovary or roe.
Fossil scallop Chlamys with encrusters; Nicosia Formation (Pliocene) of Cyprus
Bractechlamys vexillum