Pearl oyster
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{{Taxobox
| name = Pearl oyster
| image = Pinctada margaritifera.jpg
| image_caption = [[Black-lip oyster]], ''Pinctada margaritifera''
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Mollusk|Mollusca]]
| classis = [[Bivalvia]]
| ordo = [[Pterioida]]
| familia = [[Pteriidae]]
| genus = '''''Pinctada'''''
| genus_authority = Roding, 1798
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text.
}}
'''Pinctada''' is a [[genus]] of '''pearl oysters'''. These are saltwater clams, [[Marine (ocean)|marine]] [[bivalve]] [[mollusc]]s of the [[genus]] ''Pinctada'' in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Pteriidae]].
It is worth noting that the pearl oysters are not closely related to the edible [[oyster]]s of family [[Ostreidae]], and they are also not closely related to the freshwater pearl [[mussel]]s of the families [[Unionidae]] and [[Margaritiferidae]].
All species within the genus ''Pinctada'' share the physiological properties that lead to the production of large [[pearl]]s of commercial value, and therefore attempts have been made to harvest pearls commercially from many of different ''Pinctada'' [[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]]
* [[Akoya 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 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 (genus)|Pteria]]''. However pearls are also produced from freshwater [[mussel]] species including ''[[Hyriopsis cumingii]]'', ''[[Hyriopsis schlegelii]]'', and a hybrid of the two species.
==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==
* [http://www.pearl-guide.com/pearl-producing-mollusks.shtml Scientific classification of pearl-producing molluscs]
* [http://data.acnatsci.org/obis/search.php/19651 OBIS Indo-Pacific molluscan database entry for ''Pinctada'']
[[Category:Pteriidae]]
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[[fr:Pinctada]]
[[ja:アコヤガイ]]
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