Pearl oyster
Encyclopedia
Pearl oysters are saltwater clams, marine
bivalve molluscs of the genus
Pinctada in the family
Pteriidae
. They have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre
, also known as "mother of pearl
".
Pearl oysters are not closely related to either the edible oyster
s of family Ostreidae
, or the freshwater pearl mussel
s of the families Unionidae
and Margaritiferidae
.
Pinctada maxima pearl oysters are the only oyster that produces South Sea pearls. Currently cultured primarily in Australia and Tahiti.
All species within the genus share the phycological properties that can lead to them making large pearl
s of commercial value. Attempts have been made to harvest pearls commercially from many Pinctada species
. However, the only species that are currently of significant commercial interest are:
The species of Pinctada produce different maximum sizes and colors of pearls, depending on the size of the species and the natural color of the nacre
inside the shell. Black South Sea pearls, or Tahitian pearls come from the black-lip oyster; white and golden South Sea pearls from the white-lip and golden-lip oysters; and Akoya cultured pearls from Pinctada fucata martensii, the Akoya pearl oyster.
Pearls are also obtained in commercial quantities from some species of the closely related winged oyster genus Pteria.
Pearls are also produced from freshwater mussel
species unrelated to pearl oysters. These freshwater species include Hyriopsis cumingii, Hyriopsis schlegelii, and a hybrid of the two species.
At danger from the large demand for pearls, the typical lifespan of a pearl oyster is usually around 3 years to 14 years. Pinctada maxima are seeded at about 2 years of age and take 2 years to fully develop a pearl. They can be reseeded up to 3 or 4 times. Akoya pearls are harvested after about 9 to 16 months
Also see: pearl diving.
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
bivalve molluscs of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Pinctada in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Pteriidae
Pteriidae
Pteriidae is a family of medium-sized to large saltwater clams. They are pearl oysters, marine bivalve mollusks in the order Pterioida.Some of the species in this family are important economically as the source of saltwater pearls....
. They have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre
Nacre
Nacre , also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks as an inner shell layer; it is also what makes up pearls. It is very strong, resilient, and iridescent....
, also known as "mother of pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
".
Pearl oysters are not closely related to either the edible oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s of family Ostreidae
Ostreidae
Ostreidae are the true oysters, and include most species that are commonly eaten under the name oyster. Pearl oysters are not true oysters and belong to the distinct order Pterioida....
, or the freshwater pearl mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
s of the families Unionidae
Unionidae
Unionidae is a family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionoida, the bivalve mollusks sometimes known as river mussels, naiads, or simply as unionids.The range of distribution for this family is world-wide...
and Margaritiferidae
Margaritiferidae
Margaritiferidae is a family of medium-sized freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve mollusks in the order Unionoida. They are known as freshwater pearl mussels, because they are capable of producing pearls.-Genera within the family Margaritiferidae:...
.
Pinctada maxima pearl oysters are the only oyster that produces South Sea pearls. Currently cultured primarily in Australia and Tahiti.
All species within the genus share the phycological properties that can lead to them making large pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
s of commercial value. Attempts have been made to harvest pearls commercially from many Pinctada species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
. However, the only species that are currently of significant commercial interest are:
- Gulf pearl oyster, Pinctada radiata; Persian GulfPersian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
, Red SeaRed SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, Mediterranean SeaMediterranean SeaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and throughout the Indo-PacificIndo-PacificThe Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
as far as JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. - Black-lip oyster, Pinctada margaritifera; Persian GulfPersian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
and southwestern part of Indian OceanIndian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
; FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
; TahitiTahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
; MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
; Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
; Gulf of MexicoGulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In... - Gold-lip oysterGold-lip oysterGold-lip oysters are pearl yielding pearl oysters, Pinctada maxima....
, Pinctada maxima; Australia; Fiji; Tahiti; - White-lip oyster, Pinctada maxima; Australia; Fiji; Tahiti; Myanmar;
- Akoya pearl oyster or Akoya pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata (also called P. imbricata), Red Sea; Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
; Persian GulfPersian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
; Indian OceanIndian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
; Western Pacific OceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
; Australia; ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
; - Shark Bay pearl oyster Pinctada albinaPinctada albinaPinctada albina is a species of Pearl oyster, known as the sharks bay shell. Another common name is the Arafura shell. It is called the "Amami gai" in Japan.-Pinctada:...
; Australia
Nacre
Nacre , also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks as an inner shell layer; it is also what makes up pearls. It is very strong, resilient, and iridescent....
inside the shell. Black South Sea pearls, or Tahitian pearls come from the black-lip oyster; white and golden South Sea pearls from the white-lip and golden-lip oysters; and Akoya cultured pearls from Pinctada fucata martensii, the Akoya pearl oyster.
Pearls are also obtained in commercial quantities from some species of the closely related winged oyster genus Pteria.
Pearls are also produced from freshwater mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
species unrelated to pearl oysters. These freshwater species include Hyriopsis cumingii, Hyriopsis schlegelii, and a hybrid of the two species.
At danger from the large demand for pearls, the typical lifespan of a pearl oyster is usually around 3 years to 14 years. Pinctada maxima are seeded at about 2 years of age and take 2 years to fully develop a pearl. They can be reseeded up to 3 or 4 times. Akoya pearls are harvested after about 9 to 16 months
Also see: pearl diving.
Species list
- Shark Bay pearl oyster, Pinctada albinaPinctada albinaPinctada albina is a species of Pearl oyster, known as the sharks bay shell. Another common name is the Arafura shell. It is called the "Amami gai" in Japan.-Pinctada:...
- Pinctada atropurpurea
- Pinctada chemnitzi
- Japanese pearl oyster or Akoya pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata
- Pinctada laosensis
- Pinctada maculata
- Black-lip oyster, Pinctada margaritifera
- Pinctada martensi
- White-lip oyster or gold-lip oysterGold-lip oysterGold-lip oysters are pearl yielding pearl oysters, Pinctada maxima....
, Pinctada maxima - Pinctada nigra
- Gulf pearl oyster, Pinctada radiataPinctada radiataPinctada radiata, commonly known as the Atlantic pearl-oyster or the Gulf pearl oyster is a species of pearl oyster distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific. Its range extends as far north as Japan and as far south as the Australian state of Victoria.P. radiata is generally between in length,...
- Pinctada virens
- French Polynesia black