📸 PhotoPhoto: Mariottini et al. (2024) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Pacific oyster
Magallana gigas (Pacific oyster · Pacific oyster)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its common shell length of 15 cm is the same as the length of a smartphone (about 15 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 It is a major commercial species farmed in many countries (SeaLifeBase).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Pacific oyster is a representative farmed bivalve living attached to rocks along the Northwest Pacific coast, and it has been introduced to many countries around the world for aquaculture.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its shell length is commonly 15 cm and has been recorded up to 45 cm. It lives attached to rocks or hard bottoms.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is a sessile filter feeder that strains seawater to obtain food. In warm seas where water temperatures remain high for long periods, aquaculture trials on tropical western Pacific islands have often failed.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed on the National List of Species of Korea under the name Gul (Korean name).
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • marinespecies.org — aphia.php
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000237213 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000237213
- • wikidata.org — Q61695262
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Magallana gigas (10.3897-BDJ.12.e115051) Figure 84.jpg
- • sealifebase.se — Magallana-gigas.html
- • fisheries.noaa.gov — pacific-oyster
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.