True oysters[edit]

True oysters are members of the family Ostreidae. This family includes the edible
oysters, which mainly belong to the genera Ostrea, Crassostrea, Ostreola,
Magallana, and Saccostrea. Examples include the Belon oyster, eastern oyster,
Olympia oyster, Pacific oyster, and the Sydney rock oyster.

Pearl oysters[edit]
Photo of opened oyster in bowl with person using a knife to remove the pearl
Removing a pearl from a pearl oyster
Main article: Pearl oyster
Almost all shell-bearing mollusks can secrete pearls, yet most are not very
valuable.

Pearl oysters are not closely related to true oysters, being members of a distinct
family, the feathered oysters (Pteriidae). Both cultured pearls and natural pearls
can be extracted from pearl oysters, though other molluscs, such as the freshwater
mussels, also yield pearls of commercial value.

The largest pearl-bearing oyster is the marine Pinctada maxima, which is roughly
the size of a dinner plate. Not all individual oysters produce pearls naturally. In
fact, in a harvest of two and a half tons of oysters, only three to four oysters
produce what commercial buyers consider to be absolute perfect pearls.[citation
needed]

In nature, pearl oysters produce pearls by covering a minute invasive object with
nacre.[5] Over the years, the irritating object is covered with enough layers of
nacre to become a pearl. The many different types, colours and shapes of pearls
depend on the natural pigment of the nacre, and the shape of the original irritant.

Pearl farmers can culture a pearl by placing a nucleus, usually a piece of polished
mussel shell, inside the oyster. In three to seven years, the oyster can produce a
perfect pearl. These pearls are not as valuable as natural pearls, but look exactly
the same. In fact, since the beginning of the 20th century, when several
researchers discovered how to produce artificial pearls, the cultured pearl market
has far outgrown the natural pearl market.

Other types of oysters[edit]

A number of bivalve molluscs (other than true oysters and pearl oysters) also have
common names that include the word "oyster", usually because they either taste like
or look somewhat like true oysters, or because they yield noticeable pearls.
Examples include: