The flame scallop or rough fileclam, Lima scabra, is a marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 bivalve mollusc in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Limidae

Limidae

Limidae is the only family of bivalve molluscs in the order Limoida.-Genera:* Acesta H. and A. Adams, 1858* Divarilima Powell, 1958* Escalima Iredale, 1929 * Lima Bruguière, 1789 * Limaria Link, 1807 * Limatula S. V. Wood, 1839...

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Although their name would suggest otherwise, flame scallops have no relation to scallops, besides their exterior.
The flame scallop is found in the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

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Description

Flame scallops have a rough outer shell with a red mantle

Mantle (mollusc)

The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the epidermis of the mantle secretes...

. Surrounding the mantle are red and white tentacle

Tentacle

A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...

s. The flame scallop's vibrant red color is due to the large amount of carotenoid

Carotenoid

Carotenoids are tetraterpenoid organic pigments that are naturally occurring in the chloroplasts and chromoplasts of plants and some other photosynthetic organisms like algae, some bacteria, and some types of fungus. Carotenoids can be synthesized fats and other basic organic metabolic building...

s found within their body. Flame scallops can reach 3 in long. The gill

Gill

A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...

s are used for respiration

Aquatic respiration

Aquatic respiration is the process whereby an aquatic animal obtains oxygen from water.-Fish:In most fish respiration takes place through gills. Lungfish, however, possess one or two lungs...

 and filtration

Filtration

Filtration is commonly the mechanical or physical operation which is used for the separation of solids from fluids by interposing a medium through which only the fluid can pass...

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Habitat and diet

Flame scallops rest in their own nests made of small coral

Coral

Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...

 and rocks. Because flame scallops have no photosynthetic

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...

 properties, the herbivorous

Herbivore

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...

 flame scallops eat only phytoplankton

Phytoplankton

Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...

. During the consumption process, flame scallops sift and sort through the phytoplankton with their gills to determine what is appropriate for ingestion.

Predators

To escape predators or harm, the flame scallop’s valves are used. Flame scallops push their valves together to propel themselves away from dangerous situations. Their predators are crabs and shrimp.