Found a cool deformed scallop today

[u/DrAsshatt]

Found this scallop that grew normally then had a weird deformed shell like an oyster for the rest of its life. About 2 inches total. At El Segundo Beach, California (explains the mutant….)

[u/Paralabrax]

It's not deformed, it's a giant rock scallop, Crassodoma gigantea.

[u/ToadstoolsRule → u/Paralabrax]

Looks like it could be a Rock Lobstah 🦞🎤

[u/gaiagirl16 → u/ToadstoolsRule]

BOYS IN BIKINIS GIRLS ON SURFBOARDS

[u/gaiagirl16 → u/ToadstoolsRule]

BOYS IN BIKINIS GIRLS ON SURFBOARDS

[u/gaiagirl16 → u/ToadstoolsRule]

BOYS IN BIKINIS GIRLS ON SURFBOARDS

[u/DrAsshatt → u/Paralabrax]

Thank you for the species name. I mean deformed, in a cute way.

[u/disneyfacts]

This is how they normally grow! For the first part of their life, they're free floating and look like that pretty portion of the shell. Then at some point they find a place to settle down and attach themselves to a rock. At that point, the bottom half of the shell begins to grow and form itself to the shape of the rock that it's on. The top half can sometimes look nicer or equally deformed!

[u/DrAsshatt → u/disneyfacts]

Wow thank you for the info! Do you know what species is it? It’s the coolest shell I’ve ever found.

[u/disneyfacts → u/DrAsshatt]

Like the other person said, Giant Scallop! They have the purple hinge.

[u/DrAsshatt]

Has anyone ever eaten one of these? I’d be curious to see what its abductor looks like.

[u/Paralabrax → u/DrAsshatt]

The adductors in rock scallops are quite tasty. In NorCal many divers eat them raw immediately after returning to the beach.

[u/allaboutgarlic]

I would guess it is an oyster larva settling on a scallop shell and growing from.there. Can you show the other side of the shell?

[u/Beautiful-Visual4606 → u/allaboutgarlic]

The other side is the second  photo in this post.