Common name : Pearl Oysters or Wing Oysters

Aspect : inequivalve (left valve usually deeper/convex, right flatter), equilateral or nearly so; subcircular to obliquely oval with a prolonged, wing-like posterior ear; surface with concentric lamellae; iridescent nacre inside; exterior dull brown, green, or black, often encrusted with sponges/coralline algae; no teeth hinge; straight hinge line with a byssal notch (for byssus threads) under the anterior ear

Feeding : filtration of microorganisms in suspension (phytoplankton, zooplankton, detritus, and organic particles)

Environment : tropical/subtropical Indo-Pacific and Atlantic; Pinctada margaritifera (French Polynesia, Red Sea, Indian Ocean; Pinctada maxima (Australia, Indonesia); Pteria penguin (Caribbean, Japan); in Shallow subtidal 1–40 m (rarely to 100 m); in clear oceanic waters (avoid turbid estuaries); attached via byssus to hard substrates (coral rubble, rocks, gorgonians, shipwrecks)