Ostreidae
Encyclopedia
Ostreidae are the true oysters, and include most species
that are commonly eaten under the name oyster
. Pearl oyster
s are not true oysters and belong to the distinct order Pterioida
.
Like scallop
s, true oysters have a central adductor muscle
, which means the shell has a characteristic central scar marking its point of attachment. The shell tends to be irregular as a result of attaching to a substrate.
Both oviparous (egg bearing) and larviparous (larvae bearing) species are known within Ostreidae. Both types are hermaphrodite
s. However, the larviparous species show a pattern of alternating sex within each individual, whereas the oviparous species are simultaneous hermaphrodite
s, producing either female or male gamete
s according to circumstances.
Members of genus Ostrea
generally live continually immersed and are quite flat, with roundish shells. They differ from most bivalves by having shells completely made up of calcite
, but with internal muscle scars of aragonitic composition. They fare best in somewhat oligotrophic water. They brood their fertilized eggs for various proportions of the period from fertilization to hatch
ing.
Members of genera Saccostrea and Crassostrea
generally live in the intertidal zone
, broadcast sperm and eggs into the sea, and can thrive in eutrophic water. One of the most commonly cultivated oysters is Crassostrea gigas, the Japanese oyster, which is ideally suited for oyster cultivation in seawater
ponds.
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...
that are commonly eaten under the name 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....
. Pearl oyster
Pearl oyster
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"....
s are not true oysters and belong to the distinct order Pterioida
Pterioida
Pterioida is an order of large and medium-sized saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks. It includes five families, among them the Pteriidae -Families within the order Pterioida:* Isognomonidae* Malleidae* Pinnidae...
.
Like scallop
Scallop
A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source...
s, true oysters have a central adductor muscle
Adductor muscle
- Humans :* Adductor muscles of the hip, the most common reference in humans, but may also refer to** Adductor brevis muscle, a muscle in the thigh situated immediately behind the pectineus and adductor longus...
, which means the shell has a characteristic central scar marking its point of attachment. The shell tends to be irregular as a result of attaching to a substrate.
Both oviparous (egg bearing) and larviparous (larvae bearing) species are known within Ostreidae. Both types are hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
s. However, the larviparous species show a pattern of alternating sex within each individual, whereas the oviparous species are simultaneous hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
s, producing either female or male gamete
Gamete
A gamete is a cell that fuses with another cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually...
s according to circumstances.
Members of genus Ostrea
Ostrea
Ostrea is a genus of oyster in the family Ostreidae. Evidence of a number of species of this genus in the geological fossil record demonstrates the ancient nature of this genus, and also gives testimony to the species that co-existed with members of the Ostrea genus...
generally live continually immersed and are quite flat, with roundish shells. They differ from most bivalves by having shells completely made up of calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
, but with internal muscle scars of aragonitic composition. They fare best in somewhat oligotrophic water. They brood their fertilized eggs for various proportions of the period from fertilization to hatch
Hatch
Hatch may refer to:* Hatching, also called "cross-hatching", an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects using closely spaced parallel lines* Hatching, the emergence of a young animal from an egg...
ing.
Members of genera Saccostrea and Crassostrea
Crassostrea
Crassostrea is a genus of true oysters containing the most important oysters used for food.- Species :* Crassostrea ** †Crassostrea alabamiensis...
generally live in the intertidal zone
Intertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
, broadcast sperm and eggs into the sea, and can thrive in eutrophic water. One of the most commonly cultivated oysters is Crassostrea gigas, the Japanese oyster, which is ideally suited for oyster cultivation in seawater
Seawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
ponds.
Genera and species
- Alectryonella
- Anomiostrea
- Booneostrea
- CrassostreaCrassostreaCrassostrea is a genus of true oysters containing the most important oysters used for food.- Species :* Crassostrea ** †Crassostrea alabamiensis...
(Sacco, 1897)- Crassostrea angulata (Lamarck 1819) - Portuguese oysterPortuguese oysterThe Portuguese oyster, Crassostrea angulata, is a species of oyster found in the southwest Iberian Peninsula, closely related to the Pacific oyster. Although first identified as a native European species, genetic studies have suggested that the Portuguese oyster originated from the Pacific coast...
- Crassostrea ariakensis (Fujita, 1913) - Suminoe oyster
- Crassostrea chilensis (Philippi, 1845)
- Crassostrea columbiensis (Hanley, 1846)
- Crassostrea corteziensis (HertleinLeo George HertleinLeo George Hertlein was an American paleontologist and malacologist who studied the Recent and fossil mollusks of the eastern Pacific Ocean.Hertlein was born on a farm in Pratt County, Kansas...
, 1951) - Crassostrea gasar - Mangrove oysterMangrove oysterMangrove oyster is a true oyster in the Ostreidae family....
- Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) - Pacific oysterPacific oysterThe Pacific oyster, Japanese oyster or Miyagi oyster , is an oyster native to the Pacific coast of Asia. It has become an introduced species in North America, Australia, Europe, and New Zealand.- Etymology :...
- Crassostrea glomerata (Gould, 1850) - Auckland oysterAuckland oysterThe Auckland oyster, Crassostrea glomerata, is a species of bivalve mollusc of the family Ostreidae.-References:* Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1...
- Crassostrea iredalei (Sacco, 1932) - FaustinoFaustino*Faustino , a physical computing platform.*Faustino, an ape in the Kasakela chimpanzee community...
- Crassostrea rhizophorae Guilding
- Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791) - Eastern oysterEastern oysterThe eastern oyster — also called Atlantic oyster or Virginia oyster — is a species of true oyster native to the eastern seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast of North America. It is also farmed in Puget Sound, Washington, where it is known as the Totten Inlet Virginica. Eastern oysters are and have...
- Crassostrea angulata (Lamarck 1819) - Portuguese oyster
- Cryptostrea (Harry, 1985)
- Cryptostrea permollisCryptostrea permollisCryptostrea permollis, or the sponge oyster, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Ostreidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from North Carolina to the West Indies....
(G. B. Sowerby II, 1871) - Sponge oyster
- Cryptostrea permollis
- Dendostrea (Swainson, 1835)
- Dendostrea fronsDendostrea fronsDendostrea frons, or the frond oyster, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Ostreidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from North Carolina to the West Indies....
(Linnaeus, 1758) - Frond oyster
- Dendostrea frons
- HyotissaHyotissaHyotissa is a genus of large saltwater oysters, marine bivalve mollusks. Species in this genus are known as honeycomb oysters or "foam oysters" because under magnification, their shell structure is foam-like.-Species:...
- Lopha (Roding, 1798)
- Lopha cristagalli (Linnaeus)
- Lopha frons (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Nanostrea
- OstreaOstreaOstrea is a genus of oyster in the family Ostreidae. Evidence of a number of species of this genus in the geological fossil record demonstrates the ancient nature of this genus, and also gives testimony to the species that co-existed with members of the Ostrea genus...
(Linnaeus, 1758) - OstreolaOstreolaOstreola is a genus of fungi in the family Mytilinidiaceae. This is a monotypic genus, containing the single species Ostreola consociata.-External links:*...
- Ostreola conchaphila (CarpenterPhillip Pearsall CarpenterPhilip Pearsall Carpenter Rev. Dr. , who in 1841, was ordained Presbyterian minister in England, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in 1860, and whose field work as a malacologist or conchologist in North America is still well regarded today...
, 1857) - Olympia oysterOlympia oysterThe Olympia oyster, Ostreola conchaphila, is the native oyster of the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico. The name is derived from the important 19th century oyster industry near Olympia, Washington, in Puget Sound.... - Ostreola equestrisOstreola equestrisOstreola equestris, or the crested oyster, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Ostreidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Virginia to Brazil....
(SayThomas SayThomas Say was an American naturalist, entomologist, malacologist, herpetologist and carcinologist. A taxonomist, he is often considered to be the father of descriptive entomology in the United States. He described more than 1,000 new species of beetles and over 400 species of insects of other...
, 1834) - Crested oyster
- Ostreola conchaphila (Carpenter
- Planostrea
- Pretostrea
- Pustulostrea
- Saccostrea
- Saccostrea glomerata (IredaleTom IredaleTom Iredale was an English-born ornithologist and malacologist who had a long association with Australia, where he lived for most of his life. He was an autodidact who never went to university and lacked formal training...
and Roughley, 1933) - Sydney rock oysterSydney rock oysterThe Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, formerly known as Saccostrea commercialis, is an oyster species endemic to Australia and New Zealand... - Saccostrea cuccullata
- Saccostrea gigas Japanese oyster
- Saccostrea glomerata (Iredale
- Striostrea
- Teskeyostrea (Harry, 1985)
- Teskeyostrea weberi (Olsson, 1951) - Threaded oyster, weber oyster
- Tiostrea
- Tiostrea chilensisTiostrea chilensisTiostrea chilensis, known in Chile as Ostra chilena and in New Zealand as the Bluff oyster, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Ostreidae.-Distribution:Tiostrea chilensis is endemic to Chile and New Zealand....
the Bluff oyster - Tiostrea margariacea the sand oyster
- Tiostrea chilensis