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Ostrea - Species in
Ostreidae - - Classification -
- Ostreidae
- Ostreida
- Bivalvia
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Ostrea edulis Linnaeus, 1758
Edible oyster| Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050 |
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| This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed. |
| Ostrea edulis AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS |
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS
Bivalvia | Ostreida | Ostreidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Benthic; brackish; depth range 125 - 200 m (Ref. 2754). Subtropical, preferred 15°C (Ref. 107945)
Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions
Northeast Pacific, Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea: UK, Turkey, Greece; introduced in North America.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 12.0 cm SHH male/unsexed; (Ref. 88171)
Typically found in rich estuaries and shallow-waters along the tidal zone, attached to stones, compacted mud or silt, muddy sand or gravel substrate, or on bivalve shell fragments. May also be found on wave-exposed areas; and up to depths of 80 m. Prefer salinities between18 to 40; and water temperature of 17°C. Suspension feeders; filters phytoplankton from the ambient waters. Sexual maturity at 3 years. Alternating hermaphrodites; initially producing and releasing sperm as males and then becoming female and producing eggs kept in the mantle cavity where they are fertilized. Highly fecund with 500,000 to more than a million eggs produced by a single individual per year. Incubation in the mantle cavity lasts from 7 to 10 days, followed by a 10 to 30-day planktonic larval veliger stage, until it permanently cements itself with a byssal substance unto the substrate, often in aggregating colonies. Dispersal distances, as influenced by the currents, estimated to be more than 10 km. Life span estimated at 20 to 30 years. A human food source since the Stone Age. German North Sea populations decline began in the late 18th century and attributed to the use of steam ships in oyster fishery; and since the 1950s to 2012, is considered extinct in German waters. Identified hindrance to recolonization include anthropogenic influences such as overfishing and unregulated fishing; presence of invasive species and eutrophication linked to aquaculture; habitat-altering and destructive marine construction activities; poisoning from oil spills and from the liquid biocide, tributyltin hydride, in anti-fouling marine paint used in commercial shipping; as well as temperature and osmotic stress due to climate change (Ref. 88171).
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Bivalvia are mostly gonochoric, some are protandric hermaphrodites. Life cycle: Embryos develop into free-swimming trocophore larvae, succeeded by the bivalve veliger, resembling a miniature clam.
Main reference
References | Coordinator | Collaborators
Demir, M. 2003. (Ref. 2754)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
CMS (Ref. 116361)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Aquaculture: production, species profile; Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us
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More information
Trophic Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Distribution
Human Related
Aquaculture profiles
Stamps, coins, misc.
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Taxonomy
References
Internet sources
BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Aquaculture: species profile; Fisheries: ; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref. 115969): 7.1 - 11.9, mean 9.7 (based on 65 cells).
Nutrients : Calcium = 149 [71, 228] mg/100g; Iron = 8.53 [1.95, 15.11] mg/100g; Protein = 9.88 [8.64, 11.12] %; Omega3 = 0.313 [0.202, 0.423] g/100g; Selenium = 61 [50, 72] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 2.04 [0.56, 3.51] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.