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Pearl oyster
Black-lip oyster, Pinctada margaritifera
Black-lip oyster, Pinctada margaritifera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Pterioida
Family: Pteriidae
Genus: Pinctada
Roding, 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 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:

Farmed pearl oysters opened and cultured pearls being extracted

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.

Species list

External links
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