Electric Flame Scallop
Ctenoides ales
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Mollusca
- Class
- Bivalvia
- Order
- Limida
- Family
- Limidae
- Genus
- Ctenoides
- Species
- Ctenoides ales
The electric flame scallop or disco clam (Ctenoides ales) is a file clam with red tentacles and a lip that flashes like a light show. Despite the name, it is a file clam rather than a true scallop.
It grows to about 6-8 cm. The flashing comes from tiny silica spheres on the edge of its mantle that reflect light as it rolls the tissue in and out, and is thought to deter predators or attract food.
In the Philippines it is found wedged in crevices and under overhangs on reefs, where its flickering is easy to spot with a torch.