Spiny pink scallop, spiny scallop, swimming scallop • Chlamys hastata
Identification
This scallop has a rounded shell and gets up to nearly 10 cm across. The shell is variable in colour (though a shade of pink, orange, or red is common) and sculputure. It is marked by less than 30 broad, deep ribs separated by several riblets, and has fine spines radiating from its shell edges. Elaborate sponge growth upon the shell often obscures these spines and makes identification difficult.
Habitat & Range
This species is found in sandy, shelly, and rocky areas to a depth of 150 m. Its range stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to San Diego, California.
Similar Species
It can often be difficult to differentiate between spiny and smooth pink scallops, as the shells of both are usually encrusted with sponges. The smooth pink scallop (Chlamys rubida) doesn't have spines on its shell edge, and has more than 30 major ribs (with smaller riblets running in between). The smooth also tends to have a more rounded shell than the spiny.
Human Uses
The smooth pink scallop is harvested commercially by divers and dredging. See the Ocean Wise and Seafood Watch scallop pages as well as the Seafood Watch report on pink and spiny scallops for information on fishery sustainability.
Intriguing Info
The hinges on scallops are called “ears” due to their large size. Like some other scallop species, the spiny pink scallop can swim away when startled by clapping its shell valves together.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/180013-Chlamys-hastata
This scallop has a rounded shell and gets up to nearly 10 cm across. The shell is variable in colour (though a shade of pink, orange, or red is common) and sculputure. It is marked by less than 30 broad, deep ribs separated by several riblets, and has fine spines radiating from its shell edges. Elaborate sponge growth upon the shell often obscures these spines and makes identification difficult.
Habitat & Range
This species is found in sandy, shelly, and rocky areas to a depth of 150 m. Its range stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to San Diego, California.
Similar Species
It can often be difficult to differentiate between spiny and smooth pink scallops, as the shells of both are usually encrusted with sponges. The smooth pink scallop (Chlamys rubida) doesn't have spines on its shell edge, and has more than 30 major ribs (with smaller riblets running in between). The smooth also tends to have a more rounded shell than the spiny.
Human Uses
The smooth pink scallop is harvested commercially by divers and dredging. See the Ocean Wise and Seafood Watch scallop pages as well as the Seafood Watch report on pink and spiny scallops for information on fishery sustainability.
Intriguing Info
The hinges on scallops are called “ears” due to their large size. Like some other scallop species, the spiny pink scallop can swim away when startled by clapping its shell valves together.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/180013-Chlamys-hastata
References
Chlamys hastata G. B. Sowerby II, 1842. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 16/07/2014.
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 92.
Lamb, A., and Hanby, B. (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest [electronic resource]. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing.
Authors and editors
Kelly Fretwell, Christina Meschkat, and Brian Starzomski (2014).
Chlamys hastata G. B. Sowerby II, 1842. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 16/07/2014.
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 92.
Lamb, A., and Hanby, B. (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest [electronic resource]. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing.
Authors and editors
Kelly Fretwell, Christina Meschkat, and Brian Starzomski (2014).