|
Pinctada margaritifera or the Black-lipped pearl oyster is a Mollusc that belongs to the class Bivalvia. Bivalvia are also known as Pelecypoda or “hatchet-footed” animals, as their name implies. Like most bivalves, Pinctada margaritifera is a sedentary filter feeder that depends on currents, produced by cilia on their gills, to gather food particles. They have no head, no radula and very little cephalization as is seen in other molluscs.
Pinctada margaritifera are known and farmed for the black pearls (Tahitian Pearls) which they produce.
Distribution
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 0 - 55
Temperature range (°C): 22.924 - 25.622
Nitrate (umol/L): 0.049 - 0.232
Salinity (PPS): 35.069 - 35.290
Oxygen (ml/l): 4.663 - 4.971
Phosphate (umol/l): 0.075 - 0.187
Silicate (umol/l): 1.226 - 4.026 |