Editing Pinctada

{{Short description|Genus of bivalves}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=November 2019}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Pinctada margaritifera MHNT.CON.2002.893.jpg
| image_caption =  Shell of ''Pinctada margaritifera''
| taxon = Pinctada
| authority = [[Peter Friedrich Röding|Röding]], 1798<ref name=WoRMS>{{cite WoRMS |author=Bouchet, Philippe |year=2014 |title=''Pinctada'' Röding, 1798  |id=138396 |access-date=2014-02-15}}</ref> 
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
}}

'''''Pinctada''''' is a [[genus]] of saltwater [[oyster]]s, marine [[Bivalvia|bivalve mollusks]] in the family [[Pteriidae]]. These [[pearl]] oysters have a strong inner shell layer composed of [[nacre]], also known as "mother of pearl".

Pearl oysters are not closely related to either the edible oysters of family [[Ostreidae]] or the freshwater pearl [[mussel]]s of the families [[Unionidae]] and [[Margaritiferidae]].

''[[Pinctada margaritifera]]'' and ''[[Pinctada maxima|P. maxima]]'' are used for [[Cultured pearl|culturing]] South Sea and Tahitian pearls. They are cultured widely primarily in the central and eastern [[Indo-Pacific]]. A pearl oyster can be seen on the reverse side of the [[Philippine one thousand peso note|1,000-peso note]] of the [[Philippines]].

==Species of commercial value==
[[Image:Pearl Oysters.jpg|thumb|Opening and extracting pearls from farmed pearl oysters]]
[[File:Akoya-gai from Ago Bay.jpg|thumb|Cultivated pearl oyster (from [[Japan]] [[Shima, Mie]])]]
All species within the genus produce [[pearl]]s. Attempts have been made to harvest pearls commercially from many ''Pinctada'' [[species]].  However, the only species that are currently of significant commercial interest are:
* [[Gulf pearl oyster]], ''Pinctada radiata''; [[Persian Gulf]],<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Rajaei M. |author2=Farahmand H. |author3=Poorbagher H. |author4=Mortazavi M.S. |author5=Farhadi A.
| title = Sympatric morphological and genetic differentiation of the pearl oyster ''Pinctada radiata'' (Bivalvia: Pterioida) in the northern Persian Gulf.
| volume = 95
| journal = Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
| date = 2015
| issue = 3
| pages = 537–543
| url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269987776
| doi = 10.1017/S0025315414001611
|bibcode=2015JMBUK..95..537R | s2cid = 86574600
}}</ref> [[Red Sea]], [[Mediterranean Sea]] and throughout the [[Indo-Pacific]] as far as [[Japan]] and [[Australia]].
* [[Black-lip oyster]], ''Pinctada margaritifera''; [[Persian Gulf]] and southwestern part of [[Indian Ocean]]; [[Fiji]]; [[Tahiti]]; [[Myanmar]]; [[Baja California]]; [[Gulf of Mexico]]
* [[Gold-lip oyster]], ''Pinctada maxima''; Australia; Fiji; Tahiti; 
* [[White-lip oyster]], ''Pinctada maxima''; Australia; Fiji; Tahiti; Myanmar; 
* ''[[Pinctada mazatlanica]]''; Mexico; Panama;
* Akoya pearl oyster, ''[[Pinctada fucata]]'' (also called ''P. martensii''), Red Sea; [[Sri Lanka]]; [[Persian Gulf]]; [[Indian Ocean]]; Western [[Pacific Ocean]]; Australia; [[China]]; [[Venezuela]];
* Shark Bay pearl oyster ''[[Pinctada albina]]''; Australia

The various species of ''Pinctada'' produce different maximum sizes and colors of pearls, depending on the size of the species and the natural color of the [[nacre]] inside the shell.  Black South Sea pearls, or Tahitian pearls come from the black-lip oyster; gold and silver South Sea pearls from the gold-lip and silver-lip oysters; and Akoya cultured pearls from ''Pinctada fucata martensii'', the Akoya pearl oyster.

Pearls are also obtained in commercial quantities from some species of the closely related winged oyster genus ''[[Pteria (bivalve)|Pteria]]''.

Pearls are also produced from freshwater [[mussel]] species unrelated to pearl oysters. These freshwater species include ''[[Hyriopsis cumingii]]'', ''[[Hyriopsis schlegelii]]'', and a hybrid of the two species.

At danger from the large demand for pearls, the typical lifespan of a pearl oyster is usually around 3 years to 14 years. ''Pinctada maxima'' are seeded at about 2 years of age and take 2 years to fully develop a pearl.  They can be reseeded up to 3 or 4 times.  Akoya pearls are harvested after about 9 to 16 months.

Research carried out by biologist [[Aldemaro Romero Jr.]] allowed him to discover that the first animal population depleted by Europeans in the American continent was a [[pearl oyster]] species (''Pinctada imbricata'') off the coast of Venezuela. He analyzed historical records and used information about the biology of these and other species to explain its rapid disappearance.

==Species list==
The [[World Register of Marine Species]] includes the following species in the genus:<ref name=WoRMS/>

* ''[[Pinctada albina]]''<small> (Lamarck, 1819)</small> – Shark Bay pearl oyster
* ''[[Pinctada capensis]]''<small> (Sowerby III, 1890)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada chemnitzii]]''<small> (Philippi, 1849)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada cumingii]]''<small> (Reeve, 1857)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada fucata]]''<small> (Gould, 1850)</small> – Akoya pearl oyster – now accepted as ''Pinctada fucata martensii ''  
* ''[[Pinctada galtsoffi]]''<small> Bartsch, 1931</small>
* ''[[Pinctada imbricata]]''<small> Röding, 1798</small> – Gulf pearl oyster
* ''[[Pinctada inflata]]''<small> (Schumacher, 1817)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada longisquamosa]]''<small> (Dunker, 1852)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada maculata]]''<small> (Gould, 1850)</small> – pipi pearl oyster
* ''[[Pinctada margaritifera]]''<small> (Linnaeus, 1758)</small> – Black-lipped oyster
* ''[[Pinctada maxima]]''<small> (Jameson, 1901)</small> – gold-lipped oyster or silver-lipped oyster
* ''[[Pinctada mazatlanica]]''<small> (Hanley, 1856)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada nigra]]''<small> (Gould, 1850)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada petersii]]''<small> (Dunker, 1852)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada radiata]]''<small> (Leach, 1814)</small> – Atlantic pearl-oyster – now accepted as ''Pinctada radiata'' 
* ''[[Pinctada reeveana]]''<small> (Dunker, 1872)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada sugillata]]''<small> (Reeve, 1857)</small>
* ''[[Pinctada vidua]]''<small> (Gould, 1850)</small>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikispecies|Pinctada}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Pinctada|''Pinctada''}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040821091810/http://data.acnatsci.org/obis/search.php/19651 OBIS Indo-Pacific molluscan database entry for ''Pinctada'']

{{Oysters}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1140748}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Pteriidae]]
[[Category:Bivalve genera]]
[[Category:Commercial molluscs]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Peter Friedrich Röding]]