Pacific oyster
3439724
221492813
2008-06-24T19:12:02Z
85.176.188.102
/* Ecology */ small addition
{{Taxobox
| name = Pacific oyster
| image = Huitre p1040847.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Mollusk|Mollusca]]
| classis = [[Bivalvia]]
| ordo = [[Ostreoida]]
| familia = [[Ostreidae]]
| genus = '''''[[Crassostrea]]'''''
| species = '''''C. gigas'''''
| binomial = ''Crassostrea gigas''
| binomial_authority = [[Carl Peter Thunberg|Thunberg]], 1793
}}
The '''Pacific oyster''', '''''[[Crassostrea]] gigas''''', is a native oyster of the Pacific coast of [[Asia]]. It has become an introduced species in [[North America]], [[Australia]], [[Europe]], and [[New Zealand]].
== Description ==
The shell of ''C. gigas'' is extremely variable in shape, which is based on the place where it has grown. The two valves (shells) are slightly different in size and shape, with the right valve being moderatly cup shaped. The color of the shell is variable but usually pale and white or off-white, with large, rounded, radial folds, and is often times extremely rough and sharp. Mature specimens can be from 80 mm all the way up to 400 mm
== Ecology ==
''C. gigas'' can be found in intertidal and subtidal zones. They prefer to attach to a hard or rocky surfaces in shallow or sheltered waters but have been known to attach to muddy or sandy areas when the preferred habitat is scarce. They can also be found on the shells of other shellfish. Larvae often settle on the shells of adults, and great masses of oysters can grow together to form oyster reefs.
== Life Cycle ==
Pacific Oysters need a temperature of about 20° [[Celsius]] or higher in order to reproduce. Larvae are planktonic and spend several weeks in the free swimming phase, once an acceptable location has been found the oyster attaches itself to its chosen surface and spends the first year of its life as male before eventually becoming female. Un-harvested oysters may live up to 30 years.
== Introductions ==
''C. gigas'' has been introduced from its native home to all over the world, ranging from North America to Australia and Europe it has become an important commercial harvest in many of these places and is the number one shellfish resource in Washington State. However, the Pacific Oyster is considered by some to be an invasive species where it is outcompeting native species, such as the [[Olympia oyster]], in Puget Sound, Washington, and, the Wadden Sea, where it is out competing native shellfish such as the blue mussel ''[[Mytilus edulis]]''
== External Links ==
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0QPU/is_2_24/ai_n15384489
http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/3514
http://www.psmfc.org/habitat/edu_oyster_fact.html
http://www.lib.noaa.gov/korea/main_species/pacific.htm
http://www.stefannehring.de/downloads/142_Nehring-2003_Aliens-17_pacific-oyster.pdf
[[Category:Ostreidae]]
[[Category:Edible molluscs]]
[[Category:Commercial molluscs]]
[[Category:Invasive animal species]]
[[ca:Ostra japonesa]]
[[de:Pazifische Felsenauster]]
[[es:Crassostrea gigas]]
[[fr:Crassostrea gigas]]
[[nl:Japanse oester]]
[[pt:Ostra-do-pacífico]]