Shima, Mie) All species within the genus produce
pearls. 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,
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, Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm; 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. 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==