Subject: Lion's Paw

From: Linda Treeful <[email-masked]>
Date: 2 Apr 1996 20:48:08 GMT

While scuba diving off Cozumel last week, we saw something called a 
Lion's Paw.  Does anyone know what it is?  We were told it's some kind of 
worm.

Linda

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From: [email-masked] (James Marvin Tolan)
Date: 3 Apr 1996 08:55:08 -0600

Linda Treeful ([email-masked]) wrote:
: While scuba diving off Cozumel last week, we saw something called a 
: Lion's Paw.  Does anyone know what it is?  We were told it's some kind of 
: worm.

: Linda

A worm?????
The only thing I know of that goes by the name "Lions Paw" is the 
scallop, (bivalved seashell), Lyropecten nodosus  Linne.  According to 
Abbott's book "Seashells", 'the Lions paw is one of the most spectacular 
of the scallops and reaches a diameter of about 5 to 6 inches.  The few 
radial ribs have large, water-filled nodes, and the various color phases 
found in different specimens may vary from a rich brick-red to a scarlet, 
or lemon-yellow.  It is found from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico 
and the West Indies, although it is not common enought to be a 
commercial food source.'
My personal observations on the Lions paw is that the shell is fairly 
common on beaches from Northern Mexico around to the Vera Cruz reefs 
complex.  The eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is also a good place 
to find shells, especially along the sandy beaches between rocky points.
Whole specimens (especially ones that have the nodes intact) are often 
sought after by seashell collectors.

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