pearl oyster

Pearl oyster
Black-lip oyster, Pinctada margaritifera
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Pterioida
Family:	Pteriidae
Genus:	Pinctada Röding, 1798
Species
See text.

Pinctada is a genus of pearl oysters. These are saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks 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 oysters of family Ostreidae, or the freshwater pearl mussels of the families Unionidae and Margaritiferidae.

All species within the genus 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:

• Persian 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, Pinctada maxima; Australia; Fiji; Tahiti; Myanmar; Philippines
• Akoya pearl oyster or Akoya pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata (also called P. imbricata), Red Sea; Sri Lanka; Persian Gulf; Indian Ocean; Western Pacific Ocean; Australia; China;
• Shark Bay pearl oyster Pinctada albina; Australia

Farmed pearl oysters opened and cultured pearls being extracted

Cultivated pearl oyster (from Japan Shima, Mie)

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.

At danger from the large demand for pearls, the typical lifespan of a pearl oyster is usually around 3 months to 14 months. It usually takes 2 months to fully mature and to develop a pearl.

Also see: pearl diving.

Species 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

• Scientific classification of pearl-producing molluscs
• OBIS Indo-Pacific molluscan database entry for Pinctada