Pecten maximus, common name

Common name

A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...

 the "great scallop" or "king scallop", is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of scallop

Scallop

A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source...

, an edible saltwater clam

Clam

The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...

, 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 Pectinidae

Pectinidae

The Pectinidae are a family of bivalve mollusks including the scallop and closely related to the clam and oyster. They are hermaphrodite, and the male gonads mature first. Pectinidae can live attached by means of a filament they secrete, or are simply recumbent. Their valves can propel them...

, the scallops.

This is the type species of the genus.

This species may in fact be conspecific with Pecten jacobaeus

Pecten jacobaeus

Pecten jacobaeus is a species of scallop, an edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pectinidae, the scallops.This species appears to be endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, but it may in fact be conspecific with Pecten maximus, the great scallop, which has a larger distribution...

, the "pilgrim's scallop", which has a much more restricted distribution. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=21267

The energy corporation Royal Dutch Shell

Royal Dutch Shell

Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...

derives its highly recognizable logo from this species.

External links

• A live individual, upper shell covered in sediment: http://www.seawater.no/fauna/Blotdyr/images/DSC09090.jpg