ABSTRACT
The purple-hinge rock scallop, Hinnites multirugosus, is a relatively large pectinid that cements to rock or other firm surface to mature after a free-living juvenile existence. Hinnites produces a relatively large adductor muscle comprising from 30 to 55% of the soft body weight; adductor muscles typically weigh 50 to 80 g in adults 13 to 15 cm in diameter. The distribution of Hinnites multirugosus over a rather broad range of latitude and depth along the Pacific coast of North America suggests the species is relatively flexible in its requirements for temperature and salinity. Sampling from field populations of Hinnites during times of major reproductive activity yielded gravid adults that spawned readily when given appropriate stimulation in the laboratory. Scallops approaching maturity were brought into the laboratory during other seasons for conditioning and eventual spawning. Juvenile Hinnites have proved remarkably hardy; little mortality occurred among groups held under a range of conditions in bay, ocean, and laboratory environments.
