Pearl oyster

Taxobox
name = Pearl oyster

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image_caption = Black-lip oyster, "Pinctada margaritifera"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Bivalvia
ordo = Pterioida
familia = Pteriidae
genus = "Pinctada"
genus_authority = Roding, 1798
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

Pinctada is a genus of pearl oysters. These 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 the edible oysters of family Ostreidae, and they are also not closely related to the freshwater pearl mussels of the families Unionidae and Margaritiferidae.

All species within the genus "Pinctada" share the physiological properties that can lead to the production of large pearls of commercial value, and therefore attempts have been made to harvest pearls commercially from many different "Pinctada" species. However the only species that are currently of significant commercial interest are:
* Gulf pearl oyster, "Pinctada radiata"; Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea
* Black-lip oyster, "Pinctada margaritifera"; Persian Gulf and southwestern part of Indian Ocean; Australia; Fiji; Tahiti; Myanmar; Baja California; Gulf of Mexico
* White-lip oyster or gold-lip oyster, "P. maxima"; Australia; Fiji; Tahiti; Myanmar; Philippines
* Akoya pearl oyster or Akoya Pearl Oyster, "P. fucata" (also called "P. imbricata"), Red Sea; Sri Lanka; Persian Gulf; Indian Ocean; Western Pacific Ocean; Australia; China;
* Shark Bay pearl oyster "P. albina"; Australia

The different 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.

Also see: pearl diving.

pecies list

* Shark Bay pearl oyster, "Pinctada albina"
* "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 oyster, "Pinctada maxima"
* "Pinctada nigra"
* Gulf pearl oyster, "Pinctada radiata"
* "Pinctada virens"

External links

* [http://www.pearl-guide.com/pearl-producing-mollusks.shtml Scientific classification of pearl-producing molluscs]
* [http://data.acnatsci.org/obis/search.php/19651 OBIS Indo-Pacific molluscan database entry for "Pinctada"]