Belon oyster

Taxobox
name = Edible oyster European flat oyster (European) mud oyster Belon oyster


image_width = 175px
image_caption = Ostrea edulis – exterior of "left" valve
regnum = Animalia
superphylum = Lophotrochozoa
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Bivalvia
subclassis = Pteriomorphia
ordo = Ostreoida
subordo = Ostreina
superfamilia =
familia = Ostreidae
genus = "Ostrea"
species = "O. edulis"
binomial = "Ostrea edulis"
binomial_authority = Linnaeus, 1758cite book|last=Linnaeus|first=Carl|title=Systema Naturae|edition=10|year=1758|location=Uppsala|language=Latin|publisher=Linnaeus] cite web
url=http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=all&search_value=Ostrea+edulis&search_kingdom=every&search_span=exactly_for&categories=All&source=html&search_credRating=All
title=ITIS Standard Report Page: Ostrea edulis|accessdate=2008-08-06]

Belon oyster, "Ostrea edulis", is a species of oyster from Bretagne, France that is also known as the European flat oyster, the mud oyster, or the edible oyster (despite this latter name it is not the only oyster that is edible by humans). When mature it ranges from 1½ to 3½ inches (3.8 to 11 cm) across.cite web|url=http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/Ostreaedulis.htm|author=Jackson, Angus|title=Basic information for Ostrea edulis (Native oyster)|publisher=Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom|date=2008-07-14|accessdate=2008-08-07] The oyster naturally ranges along the western and southern coasts of Europe from Norway to Morocco and including most of the British Isles and the Mediterranean coast.cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspecies/Ostrea_edulis|title=FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture Ostrea edulis|accessdate=2008-08-06|publisher=FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS] Naturally viable populations have appeared in eastern North America from Maine to Rhode Island subsequent to artificial introduction in the 1940s and 1950s.They are now also being maricultured in California, Maine, and Washington in the United States. This species once dominated European oyster production but disease, pollution, and overfishing sharply reduced the harvest. Today Pacific oysters ("Crassostrea gigas") account for more than 75 percent of Europe’s oyster production.

U.S. oyster growers farm "O. edulis" in small quantities on both coasts. They are prized for their unique tannic seawater flavor, sometimes described as dry and metallic, and are more expensive than other American oysters. The flavor is considered excellent for eating raw on the half shell.cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874019,00.html|title=Ostrea Edulis & Others - TIME|publisher=Time magazine|accessdate=2008-08-07] [cite web|url=http://www.kellyoysters.com/oysters.html|title=Kelly Galway Oysters|accessdate=2008-08-07] In France the Belon has an AOC classification - only oysters harvested from the Bélon River in Bretagne can be called Bélon oysters (French: Huîtres de Bélon).fact|date=August 2008

See also

* Oyster
* Oyster farming
* Locmariaquer
* Riec-sur-Belon

References