SCALLOP SIGHT
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Did you know that scallops have eyes? Meet the bay scallop (Argopecten irradians), typically found in pocket populations along the Atlantic coast. These saltwater bivalves – molluscs with a hard shell and two internal valves – have a striking appearance. Rows of vibrantly blue eyes and teeth-like tentacles transform them into sci-fi monsters from the deep. Though they’re a far cry from our complex optical organs, a scallop’s eyes work in a similar way. Light enters the pupil and retinae, reaching a biological ‘mirror’ at the back of the eye where it’s reflected to a cluster of nerve cells that trigger an action in the scallop, such as swimming away when a predator is near.