Introduction

Shellfish are seafood with hard outer shells intended to cover a soft body that has no backbone. They can be classified as mollusks, crustaceans and cephalopods. This lesson will present the classifications of shellfish and the common varieties of each.

Common Varieties of Shellfish

Several varieties of shellfish are commonly used in foodservice today. The following are some of them:

Molluscs

• Oysters

• Mussels

• Scallops

• Clams

• Abalone

Crustaceans

• Crabs

• Shrimps and Prawns

• Lobsters

Cephalopods

• Squid

• Octopus

• Cuttlefish