''Chlamys australis'',
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
the "austral scallop", is a species of
scallop
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 ...
, a
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
bivalve
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Pectinidae, the scallops.
Description
''Chlamys australis'' has a shell which can reach an adult size of . Like almost all scallops, the shell is fan-shaped and composed of two valves, each of which is convex and has broad ribs. The ribs radiate from the umbone, the rounded protuberance near the hinge. Again, like all scallops, beside the hinge are two irregular shelly flaps or auricles; the anterior one is normally much larger than the posterior one. Like all scallops the interior of each valve shows a central round scar which is the attachment area for the single strong adductor muscle which closes the two valves of the shell. The background color of the exterior of the shell in this species varies from yellow to light purple. Like almost all bivalve species, this one is a
filter feeder
Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...
, sieving microscopic algae from water that passes through its gills.
Distribution and habitat
This species is native to
Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna.
The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...
. It lives on the seabed in the
sublittoral zone
The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth.
From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...
.
References
External links
BiolibDiscover LifeEoL* Derek A. Cropp
Hatchery culture potential of the scallop Chlamys australis in Western Australia
Bivalves described in 1844
australis
{{Pectinidae-stub