44 Qua/i'terly Journal of Concfiology, 



pieces of wliicli the complete shell is composed, are utilized in various 

 ways, and with that ingenuity peculiar to the sex, through which "in- 

 considered trifles " are converted into forms of beauty, an accession of 

 scallops is sure to be followed by a harvest of pincushions and needle- 

 books. 



In natural history, the scallops are known as Pectens, from a 

 fancied resemblance of the radiating ribs which most of them display 

 to the teeth of a comb ; but as the foi'ms of combs are subject to the 

 capi'ices of fashion, the pertinency of the name is not altogether appa- 

 rent. They are also called fan-shells, which is far more appropriate. 

 Though included by the public in the term shell-fish, as are also the 

 clams, quahaugs, and cockles, they are in no way related to the fishes, 

 but belong to the division of the animal kingdom known as mol- 

 lusca, or soft-bodied animals (from the Latin word, mollis, soft), as do 

 the cuttles, snails, conchs, oysters, and mussels. 



The genus Pecten was established by the naturalist Brugiere, to 

 distinguish these shells from the oysters, with which they were for- 

 merly classed. The shells of this genus, of which two hundred 

 species are known, have a wide geographical distribution, being found 

 in almost every sea. In most of them, the valves, as the two pieces 

 are termed which form the perfect shell, are extei'nally convex, but in 

 others one is convex and the other flat. They frequently exhibit 

 most elaborate and exqiusite sculpture, and exti'eme brilliancy of color. 

 One group, which is peculiar to the coral areas of the Indo-Pacific 

 waters, known as the mantle-shells {Pallium), resembles fine em- 

 broidery in sculpture and coloration. Many of the forms which in- 

 habit the colder seas, either north or south of the equator, are notable 

 for their beauty; a single species frequently indulges in a difierentiation 

 in color and markings. The larger species of the fan-shells are found in 

 the colder waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific (Puget Sound 

 and Japan) ; also, in the Straits of Magellan, and the similarity of 

 form and sculp tiue iir the shells from these widely separated i^egions 

 is quite remarkable. Other illustrations of the pectens are found on 

 the west coast of North America, and one species is quite abundant 

 at San Diego. 



The fan-shells or scallops were known to the ancients ; they were 

 called Kteve- by the Greeks, and the Ktels of Xenocrates and Galen 

 is said to be the PecUn maximus of modern authors. According to 

 Athenseus, this or an allied species was used by the ancients for medi- 

 cinal purposes as well as food. 



In England, they are called "frills," or " queens" in South Devon, 



