1. Scallops By John Monahan

2. Scallops are marine mollusks of the family Pectinadae. They are bivalve which means they have two shells hinged together that open and close. The name scallop is used to describe its rigid shell pattern and the fanned shape of the shell

3. Physical Characteristics Bivalve Contains an adductor muscle Active Swimmers

4. Scallops are cosmopolitan. Eighty percent of the world’s scallops are off the coast of China. Most are free swimming but others attach themselves to hard substrate by cementing themselves. Most scallops live on the rocky bottom in salt water

5. Scallops filter feed. They eat mostly plankton. They grow up to 5 inches in size and can live up to 20 years. They are plankton when they are first born and then sink to the bottom as they get bigger.

6. Predators Lobsters Crabs Fish Sea stars Humans

7. Scallops reproduce when spermatozoa and ova are released freely into the water during mating season. Scallops can be male female or both. Some switch as they grow. Their age can be found by the amount of rings of their shell.