Bay Scallop – a marine bivalve mollusk in the Atlantic Ocean.
Spat – juvenile scallops that develop from the eggs and settle on sea grass to grow.
Hermaphrodite – being both male and female so one scallop can produce babies.
Fun Facts
Bay scallops live 1-1.5 years while the large sea scallops can get up to 20 years.
The scallop population has been dropping since 1950s due to reduction in sea grass, coastal development, and a reduction in sharks that has increased the skates and rays that eat scallop spat. A change in the water temperature and salinity can reduce the time the scallop can produce eggs.
Scallops swim by jet propulsion. It squirts water out from the shell in a series of snapping motions versus using a foot.
The scallop has about 30-40 bright blue eyes along edge of its shells that allows it to see movement and quickly to swim away.
