Olympia Oyster
Ostrea lurida
Summary 4
Ostrea lurida is a species of oyster that occurs on the Pacific coast of North America. This bivalve is approximately 6 to 8 centimetres (2.4 to 3.1 in) in length. The shell can be rounded or elongated and is white to purplish black and may be striped with yellow or brown. Unlike most bivalves, the Olympia oyster's shell lacks the periostracum, which is the outermost coating of shell that prevents erosion of the underlying shell. The color of the oyster's flesh is white to a light olive green. Ostrea lurida lie with their left valve on the substrate, where they are firmly attached. Unlike most bivalves, the oyster does not have a foot in adulthood. They also lack an anterior adductor muscle and do not secrete byssal threads, like mussels do. Olympia oysters, like other bivalves are filter feeders. This means that they filter their surrounding water and screen out the phytoplankton they feed on. Olympia's filter between 9 to 12 quarts of water each day. This is an essential function to keeping marine waters clean. Their beds also provide shelter for anemones, crabs, and other small marine life. This species has been recovered in archaeological excavations along the Central California coast of the Pacific Ocean, demonstrating it was a marine species exploited by the Native American Chumash people.
In Lake Merritt 5
While there probably aren't that many in Lake Merritt at the moment, shells from previous settlement events can found attached to rocks.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Rebecca Johnson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Rebecca Johnson
- (c) Rebecca Johnson, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Rebecca Johnson
- (c) Damon Tighe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Damon Tighe
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrea_lurida
- (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
More Info
iNat Map
| Region of origin | California |
|---|---|
| Category | Clams / mussels / Oysters |
