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Family Pteriidae - pearl oysters
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Class |
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Bivalvia |
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Environment |
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Fresh : No |
Brackish : No |
Marine : Yes |
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Remark |
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To about 20 cm. Marine (Ref. 94508). Dorsal margin often produced at each end into a wing-like ear, sometimes very long behind. Shell slightly inequivalve. Right valve with a byssal notch anteriorly. Hinge toothless or with denticles. Interior brilliantly nacreous. Only one adductor muscle scar. Pallial line without a sinus. Living attached by their strong byssus to various substrates (rocks, pebbles, shells, aquatic plants, alcyonarians, etc.), mainly in warm, tropical to subtropical and relatively shallow waters. They may occur in dese colonies. The Pteriidae are important economic bivalves in the Indo-West Pacific. They are actively exploited since ancient times for their ability to produce pearls. Some species are intensely cultivated for pearl production and their shell used as a source of mother-of-pearl for the industry. The soft parts are also consumed by native coastal populations in many parts of the Western Central Pacific (Ref. 348). |
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