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Crassostrea gigas
Biology
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Common name(s): Pacific Oyster, Japanese Oyster
Size:
Up to 300mm
Range:
Alaska to California
Habitat:
Rocky, solid substrates. Commercially grown on firm mud flats. Intertidal to 6 m. Larvae prefer to settle out on adult oyster shells.
Life History:
An intentionally introduced species. Spawning occurs when water temperatures exceed 18o C (from June to September). Unlike most bivalves, the eggs do not exit the shell via the siphons but are released into the suprabranchial chamber where they are expelled from the gills by a contraction of the adductor muscles. This species matures in one year and can live up to twenty years.
Predators:
Cancer spp., Nucella emarginata, Pisaster spp.
*"Size" refers to shell length only and only gives the largest average size for the given species.
Last updated Tuesday, August 29, 2006, by Lisa Ferrier
