What is "pecten"

Pecten \Pec"ten\, n. [L. pecten, -inis, a comb, a kind of shellfish. See Pectinate.]

1. (Anat.)

   1. A vascular pigmented membrane projecting into the vitreous humor within the globe of the eye in birds, and in many reptiles and fishes; -- also called marsupium.

   2. The pubic bone.

2. (Zo["o]l.) Any species of bivalve mollusks of the genus Pecten, and numerous allied genera (family Pectinid[ae]); a scallop. See Scallop.

3. (Zo["o]l.) The comb of a scorpion. See Comb, 4 (b) .

n. 1 (context anatomy obsolete English) The bones in the hand between the wrist and the fingers. 2 (context anatomy English) The pubic bone. 3 (context zoology English) One of the genus ''Pecten'' of scallops.

A pecten (plural, pectins) is a comb-like structure, widely found in the biological world. Although the structures look similar, they have a varied range of uses, from grooming and filtering to sensory adaptations,

Pecten may refer to:

• Pecten (biology), any comb like structure in animals
• Pecten oculi, a structure in the bird retina which contains most of the vasculature
• Various pectineal lines in anatomy, especially the pectineal line (pubis)
• Pecten (genus), a genus of scallops which includes the Great or King Scallop, Pecten maximus
• The Venus Comb Murex, after its scientific name Murex pecten
• Pectinidae, a family of bivalve mollusks
• Pectinoidea, a superfamily of bivalve mollusks which includes Pectinidae
• Pectineus muscle, a thigh muscle
• A subsidiary of Sinopec

Pecten is a genus of large scallops or saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Pectinidae, the scallops. This is the type genus of the family.

This genus is known in the fossil record from the Cretaceous period to the Quaternary period (age range: from 70.6 to 0.012 million years ago.). Fossil shells within this genus have been found all over the world.