Silken Scallop Shell, Leopecten sericeus

Silken Scallop Shell, Leopecten sericeus. Size: 6.4 cm (2.6 inches) x 7.0 cm (2.8 inches). Shell collected from within the estuary of the Magdalena Bay complex, Baja California Sur, October 2018.

The Silken Scallop, Leopecten sericeus (Hinds, 1845), is a bivalve mollusk that is a member of the Pectinidae Family of Scallop Shells. They are known in Mexico as vieira de satinada. The shell is a classic fan shaped scallop with a rounded profile with a straight hinge and equal sized ears (auricles). Both valves are decorated with pronounced triangular or rounded radiating ribs; the right valve is convex and the left valve is flat or slightly concave. These shells vary in color and can be orange, pine, reddish brown, white or yellow in color. Silken Scallop shells reach a maximum of 8.8 cm (3.5 inches) in length and 8.0 cm (3.1 inches) in height.

Silken Scallops are found over and within sand and mud substrate from the intertidal zone to depths up to 180 m (600 feet). They range from Bahia de Angeles, Baja California to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the Sea of Cortez and south to Peru including the Cocos, Galapagos and Revillagigedo Islands; they have not been documented to reside along the west coast of Baja.

A synonym is Pecten sericeus.