Shell
Iceland scallop
Chlamys islandica
French Waters (St. Pierre and Miquelon)
Fishing zone
Wild
Origin
9,5 cm
Minimum size
Description
Its shell is circular or subcircular in shape. Both valves are convex, but the left valve is generally more rounded than the right. The surface is adorned with numerous fine, irregular radial ribs (often more than 50), which are themselves covered with small scales or transverse striations. Like all scallops, it has hinge ears. In this species, they are very uneven: the anterior ear is much larger than the posterior one. Highly variable, ranging from creamy white to gray, orange, purple, or reddish brown, often with concentric zones of different hues. It generally measures between 6 and 10 cm, but can exceptionally reach 14 cm. A suspension-feeding filter feeder. It captures phytoplankton and organic particles suspended in the water.
Habitat
A benthic species that lives on the seafloor. Unlike other bivalves, it does not burrow but lives attached by a byssus or resting on the substrate. It is found primarily between 10 and 250 meters, although it can descend to depths of over 500 meters. It prefers hard or semi-hard substrates: gravel, broken shells, stones, or coarse sand, in areas subject to moderate to strong ocean currents that bring its food. It is a cold-water stenothermic species (Arctic and subarctic). It cannot survive in waters exceeding 12°C to 15°C.
Distribution
Its range is typically circumpolar and boreal. From northern Norway, the Barents Sea, Spitsbergen, and Iceland, to the Faroe Islands and the northern North Sea. From Greenland and the Davis Strait to Massachusetts (United States). Found in the Bering Sea and as far north as Japan.