Ostrea edulis   Linnaeus, 1758

Edible oyster

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Ostrea edulis  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Ostrea edulis

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)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

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)


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

Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance

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).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Very high.
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).