Where Great Atlantic scallop has been recorded
GBIF occurrence records for Pecten maximus, mapped and tabulated by country.
Last updated
Distribution map plotted from GBIF.org occurrence records; basemap Natural Earth 110m · GBIF records CC0 / CC BY; Natural Earth public domain
29,739 georeferenced occurrence records with coordinates are published for Pecten maximus through GBIF, from 35 countries or marine areas. This page maps those records and lists where they come from. Occurrence records reflect where people have looked as well as where the species lives, so well-surveyed coastlines are over-represented.
Quick Facts
- Georeferenced records
- 29,739
- Mapped locations
- 149
- Inland records omitted
- 147
- Gbif taxonkey
- 2285980
Facts from the source article.
Countries and areas with the most records (GBIF)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — 15,678 records; France — 6,796 records; Norway — 2,272 records; Ireland — 1,194 records; Isle of Man — 776 records; Guernsey — 760 records; Portugal — 678 records; Spain — 562 records; Jersey — 324 records; Sweden — 302 records; Netherlands — 259 records; Belgium — 63 records; Italy — 21 records; Denmark — 12 records; Germany — 7 records.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2285980) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2285980&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Marine regions with a WoRMS distribution record
European waters (ERMS scope); Spain - Demarcación Marina Noratlántica; Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone; De Panne; English Channel; British Isles; East Coast of England; Moroccan part of the North Atlantic Ocean; Wimereux; De Haan; Oostende; Irish Exclusive economic Zone; Swedish part of the Skagerrak; Chinese Exclusive Economic Zone; Chilean part of the South Pacific Ocean; Spain - Demarcación Marina del Estrecho y Alborán; Spain - Demarcación Marina Sudatlántica.
Source: WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140712 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.
How to read this map
The map plots a sample of 3,000 of the 29,739 records, deduplicated to a half-degree grid, so dense areas do not merge into one blob. The sample covers 18 of the 35 countries or areas with records; the areas absent from the sample hold 87 records in total (Belgium, Algeria, Greece, Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Malta, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Brazil).
147 records plotting inland were omitted: for a marine species those are almost always the holding institution's coordinates rather than a collection site.
Records show where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2285980) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2285980&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140712 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-25.
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