134 



SEA-SHORE LIFE 



^A. 



Fig. r,6; ARCTIC SCALLOP. Maine. 



scallop thus remains attached until it is from one-half to one and 

 a lialf inches long, after which it frees itself and swims actively 



about by flapping the valves of its 

 shell. The mantle edge around the 

 lips of the shell is studded with dark 

 iridescent blue eyes which glow 

 when alive with a beautiful fluor- 

 escence; and scattered between the 

 eyes there are numerous delicate 

 feelers. Tiie large adductor muscle, 

 that serves to close the shell, is the 

 only part eaten by man, and is the 

 scallop of the markets. 



The scallop breeds during the 

 summer, and grows very rapidly, 

 1)ecoming more than an inch long before the winter. During 

 the winter growth is very slow, but is resumed in the spring. It 

 seems probable that scallops do not live to be more than three or 

 four years old. They are captured by dredging in autumn and 

 winter, but the supply in any one locality is uncertain, owing to the 

 Avandering habits of the animals. The scallop fishery of Connecti- 

 cut and Rhode Island is worth $115,000 annually. 



The Arctic Scallop, fPecten islandicua, Fig. 90 J, is very rare 

 south of Cape Cod, but is quite common in depths of 150 feet and 

 more off the northern New England coast. It ranges into the Arctic 

 and is found on the northern coasts of Europe. The outer surface 

 of the shell is covered with a scaly skin; there are about 100 shallow 

 ridges, and the "ears" are unequal, the posterior one being the 

 shorter and its angle obtuse. 



The Jingle Shell, ( Anomia simplex, Ficj. 97). This is also 

 called the gold shell, or scale shell, and the name jingle shell is 

 given in allusion to the ringing sound produced when the waves 

 beat upon beaches strewn with the dead shells. The shell is scale- 

 like and of a greenish-yellow color. It is one to three inclies broad 

 and the upper valve is convex while the lower is flat or concave, 

 and matches the irregularities of the surface to whicli the shell is 

 attached. The peculiar feature of the lower valve is a large hole 

 near the apex. A stout, stony stalk passes through this opening. 



