Eastern Oyster
The Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), is also known as the common oyster, Atlantic oyster, American oyster and the Virginia oyster. It is a commercially important bivalve species found along the east coast of the United States from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Oysters are reef building organisms: juvenile oysters (also called spat) attach (with a glue-like substance) themselves to adult oysters already attached to rocks, shell or other oysters. After time, this accumulation of oysters and shell forms a reef. Oysters are usually found in the intertidal and subtidal zones.
Oysters have pale white to gray shells that are rough and bumpy. The Eastern oyster can grow up to 10 inches in length and can live to approximately 20 years of age. Predators include crabs, starfish, and oyster drills (a predatory snail).
Like many other oysters, the Eastern oyster makes pearls. These pearls however are not as brilliant or valuable as those produced by other oyster species. Pearls are formed when a sand grain or other irritating particle gets stuck inside the oyster's shell. To get rid of this irritant the oyster covers the sand grain with a smooth substance called nacre, which is similar to the material covering the inside of the shell. After receiving several layers of nacre the sand grain eventually becomes a pearl.
This shellfish is a very popular item found on restaurant menus worldwide. Oysters are often served raw on the half shell. Have you ever had oyster stew?
