The Prized Scallop Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cosmopolitan distribution

Cosmopolitan distribution is a bio-geographical term that denotes living creatures that are located in a large portion of the world as long as the habitat permits their survival. Endemism is the exact opposite of this in which a living creature is unique to a specific location (e.g. an island).

The scallop is classed as a free-living creature, with some being active swimmers. They are found throughout the world's oceans, but not in freshwater locations. Their typical natural habitat includes shallow waters among rock, coral, sand, or mud.

Answer: Fish and other mollusks

The scallop belongs to a species of invertebrates known as mollusks. Most mollusks have an organ known as a "siphon" that allows for water and air flow. In other creatures, the siphon allows for feeding, respiration, and reproduction. The scallop, however, is lacking a siphon and must consume algae and plankton for survival. On the other end of the food chain, the scallop is an important food source for other sea creatures such as crabs, sea stars, and sting rays. Scallops are prized by humans not only as a food source, but also for their shells and pearls that are valuable monetarily.

Answer: Blue

Scallops have eyes that are roughly one millimeter in size and may have up to one hundred of them lined around their mantle. It is believed that the main purpose behind these eyes is to detect threats. Scallops are believed by scientists to use their eyes to scan for shadows that they perceive as predators or threats. Due to their ability to swim freely, they are able to travel distances when threatened.

Their eyes also serve a secondary purpose, and this is feeding behavior. As scallops feed on particulate matter such as algae and plankton, their eyes allow them to detect particle matter in the water that is often too difficult for other sea creatures to see.

Answer: A brain

Like many other bi-valve creatures, the scallop does not have an actual brain. Instead, the scallop relies on a group of nerve cells known as "ganglia" to control their entire nervous system. There are three pairs of ganglia that control various points of the scallop including their tentacles, eyes, and gills.

Answer: Red and white

Scallops are strange creatures in the sense that, re-productively, they may be either hermaphrodites (both sexes within the same individual) or dioecious (separate males and females). The eggs (roe) of a scallop come in two distinct colors: red (sometimes an orange color) and white. Red roe are female while white roe are male. During the mating season, fertilized ova sink to the bottom of the ocean and after a period of several weeks, an immature scallop hatches.

Answer: Pearls

Pearls are layers of calcium carbonate that have formed inside many shelled creatures such as oysters, mussels, and scallops. Pearls have been hunted by the Pandyan Dynasty in India and Sri Lanka as early as six centuries before the Christian Era began. Pearls are often valued at thousands of dollars and are a lucrative business in the modern world.

In many regions of the world, such as the South Sea and Tahiti, oysters are farmed not only for human consumption, but also for mass marketing of pearls.

In scallops, pearls are produced occasionally and typically have a dull outer coating. Due to their rarity, scallop pearls have been valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars per carat.

Answer: Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the practice of farming fish, mollusks, algae, and other aquatic organisms. It is also known as aqua-farming. Specifically, the farming of shrimp, oysters, and scallops is common around the world. The aquaculture industry is valued at billions of dollars per year. China has been reported to be the world's leader in production in the aquaculture industry often producing over a million tonnes of goods per year, although these numbers have been disputed by many scientists including the Fisheries and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) due to statistical inaccuracies in data.

Answer: Vitamin B-12

Scallops are highly rated as one of the healthiest foods in the world. Like many other types of seafood, such as tuna and salmon, they are high in nutrients that are believed to lower heart disease, cancer, and strokes. Scallops are high in Omega-3 fatty acids which are believed to be beneficial for brain development, reduce chances of cancer, improve mood and lower chances of depression. Scallops have many nutrients and vitamins in them including vitamin B-12, iodine, phosphorus, and protein. Vitamin B-12 has been shown to be beneficial to cardiovascular health and reduces the chance of stroke in humans.

Answer: Fertility

In early history, many popular figures in Greek and Roman mythological characters seen as symbols of love and fertility were seen with hinged shells as part of their paintings or sculptures. Most notably, in Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus", Venus herself has been depicted standing on top of a hinged shell.

The principle behind this was the fact that the outer shell serves as a protective and nurturing barrier just like the human womb. Oddly enough, in Celtic culture, the hinged shell was seen in an opposite light.

The "Way of St. James" (in which St. James rescued a dying knight covered in scallops) for example, was often seen as a journey towards death.

Answer: Adductor muscle

The adductor muscle serves a very specific purpose in scallops and that is to "open and close" their shell. As these muscles are well developed, but not tough, they can easily be prepared for human consumption. They often vary in color from white to beige and can be up to two inches in diameter.

In human anatomy, we also have adductor muscles in our thigh. In humans, they are often used for running or resistance activities such as squatting, jumping, or flexing.