Pearl Oyster - Definition and Overview

The Pearl Oysters are the genus Pinctada of bivalve molluscs. They are classified in the family Pteriidae. They are not closely related to the edible oysters of family Ostreidae.

All members of the genus share the physiological properties that lead to the production of large pearls of commercial value, and attempts have been made to harvest pearls commercially from many of the 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
• Japanese 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 produce different types of pearls. 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 the Japanese pearl oyster.

Pearls are also obtained in commercial quantities from some species of the related genus Pteria, and also from the freshwater mussel species Hyriopsis schlegeli. Though also a bivalve, this last species is unrelated to the oysters.

External links

• Common commercial pearl-oysters (http://www.pearlparadise.com/akoyapearls.html)

and

• More common commercial pearl-oysters (http://www.pearlparadise.com/blackpearls.html)
• OBIS Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database entry for Pinctada (http://data.acnatsci.org/obis/search.php/19651)
• List of commercial pearl types (http://www.wholesalepearl.com/pearl-jewelry/pearl-oyster-types.htm)