Bivalvia |
Pectinida |
Pectinidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; brackish; depth range 0 - 180 m (Ref. 114555). Subtropical, preferred 26°C (Ref. 107945); 35°N - 6°S, 121°W - 77°W (Ref. 114555)
Eastern Pacific: From California, USA (35°N) and the Gulf of California to Piura, Peru (6°S).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 10.0 cm SHL male/unsexed; (Ref. 101476)
Inhabits shallow bays, sloughs and calm offshore areas; often associated with eelgrass beds. Moves by expelling water between valves propelling to a distance of 1m upwards or several meters sideways, i.e., flying motion. Smaller scallops are generally attached to the substrate by byssal threads (Ref. 78081). Commercial scallop fishery in early 1900s overexploited this resource, the fishery fell in the 1950s and the once abundant scallop became rare along the northern range of its distribution. This led to the protection of this species by the California Fish and Game Commission in 1954 (Ref. 78082). Commercial scallop fisheries and aquaculture exist in Baja California Sur, Mexico both on Pacific and Gulf of California areas since the 1980s (Ref. 78088) with peak catches at Magdalena Bay in 1990 accounting for 53% of total Mexican scallop production (Ref. 78090).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Bivalvia are mostly gonochoric, some are protandric hermaphrodites. Life cycle: Embryos develop into free-swimming trocophore larvae, succeeded by the bivalve veliger, resembling a miniature clam.
Waller, T.R. 1995 The misidentified holotype of Argopecten circularis (Bivalvia: Pectinidae). Veliger 38(4):298-303. (Ref. 78082)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial
FAO - Aquaculture: production; Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us
Tools
More information
Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 11 - 28.5, mean 24 (based on 90 cells).
Fishing Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability
Moderate to high vulnerability (49 of 100).
Nutrients : Calcium = 149 [71, 228] mg/100g; Iron = 8.53 [1.95, 15.11] mg/100g; Protein = 9.88 [8.64, 11.12] %; Omega3 = 0.313 [0.202, 0.423] g/100g; Selenium = 61 [50, 72] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 2.04 [0.56, 3.51] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.
