Scallop amuse bouche

On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the scallop amuse bouche title. For potato scallops, see Potato cake. For the cut of meat, see Escalope.

Scallops are a cosmopolitan family of bivalves found in all of the world’s oceans, although never in fresh water. They are one of the very few groups of bivalves to be primarily “free-living”, with many species capable of rapidly swimming short distances and even migrating some distance across the ocean floor. Many species of scallops are highly prized as a food source, and some are farmed as aquaculture. The word “scallop” is also applied to the meat of these bivalves, the adductor muscle, that is sold as seafood. Owing to their widespread distribution, scallop shells are a common sight on beaches and are often brightly coloured, making them a popular object to collect among beachcombers and vacationers.

The shells also have a significant place in popular culture. Scallops inhabit all the oceans of the world, with the largest number of species living in the Indo-Pacific region. Most species live in relatively shallow waters from the low tide line to 100 m, while others prefer much deeper water. Although some species only live in very narrow environments, most are opportunistic and can live under a wide variety of conditions.

Very little variation occurs in the internal arrangement of organs and systems within the scallop family, and what follows can be taken to apply to the anatomy of any given scallop species. The shell of a scallop consists of two sides or valves, a left valve and a right one, divided by a plane of symmetry. Scallops are filter feeders, and eat plankton. Unlike many other bivalves, they lack siphons.

Water moves over a filtering structure, where food particles become trapped in mucus. Next, the cilia on the structure move the food toward the mouth. Like all bivalves, scallops lack actual brains. Instead, their nervous system is controlled by three paired ganglia located at various points throughout their anatomy, the cerebral or cerebropleural ganglia, the pedal ganglia, and the visceral or parietovisceral ganglia.