Evergreen Natural History Database

Common name(s): Olympia oyster, native oyster

Size:
Up to 50 mm

Range:
Alaska to Panama

Habitat:
On rocky substrates near the low tide line or on mud flats and gravel bars in quiet bays with low salinities.

Misidentification:
Pododesmus cepio

Life History:
Formerly very abundant, this species has now been widely displaced by the commercially introduced and much larger, Crassostrea gigas or wiped out by land filling, dredging or pollutants in their environments.

Predators:
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