A mathematical model for the mechanical properties of scallop shells

The mechanical behaviour of one or both shell valves of five species of pectinacean and one anomiacean was determined using strain gauge rosettes attached to the inner surfaces of the valves. A multiple linear regression analysis accounted for over 64% of the total vanance in tensile shell compliance. The important shell architectural variables were thickness, corrugation and, much less important, convexity and shell length. Calculation showed that in general corrugation of the shell was easily the cheapest way of producing stiffness, in terms of the amount of shell material required. Suggestions are offered as to why not all scallops are scalloped.