Gastropoda |
Ostreida |
Margaritidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; depth range 0 - 60 m (Ref. 348), usually 5 - 30 m (Ref. 348). Tropical
Indo-West Pacific: from Nicobar and Andaman Islands to Melanesia; north to Japan and south to Queensland and Western Australia; Borneo and Moluccas.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 30.0 cm ShL male/unsexed; (Ref. 348); common length : 20.0 cm SHH male/unsexed; (Ref. 348)
Shell rather thick and large (attaining 30 cm in length), subcircular in outline, with a short and ill-defined posterior ear which is not drawn out into a wing-like process. Anterior margin markedly protruding beyond the tip of anterior ear. Outer surface of valves, when not worn, covered with flattened, imbricating concentric scales bearing large and irregular, flat spines with blunt ends, roughly arranged in radial rows and projecting at shell margins. Hinge completely devoid of teeth. Colour: outside of shell uniformly fawn, sometimes with radial stripes of darker spots in umbonal region; then, ground colour in that region green, dark brown, or purple. Internal nacreous area highly lustrous, silvery with a variably extended golden border. Non-nacreous margin clear, of plain horny colour.
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.
SAUP Database. 2006. (Ref. 356)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
| FishSource | Sea Around Us
Tools
More information
Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvaeLarval dynamics Human RelatedAquaculture profile
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 24.4 - 29.1, mean 28.2 (based on 1342 cells).
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.72-0.79).
Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (18 of 100).
Price category
Unknown.
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.