Table Of Contents
- Description
- Biology
- Ecology and Distribution
- Distribution
- Habitat
- Conservation
- Trends and Threats
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- References and More Information
- Specialist Projects
- Common Names
Description
The native oyster is a bivalve mollusc, which means 'two shells', and is rough, scaly and yellowish-grey in colour. Each valve differs in shape and size; the left one (the one used by the oyster to attach itself to a surface) is concave, while the right one is flat and fits snugly inside the left. The right valve has concentric rings of a bluish colour, and the whole animal is roughly pear-shaped. Inside the shell, the colours range from blue to grey and include the opalescent 'mother of pearl'. Mother of pearl is secreted by the oyster around any foreign body that gets trapped between the shells, for example, a piece of sand or grit. In time, this builds up and forms a pearl.