Stats

Lifespan

Up to 20 yrs

Size

Medium

Diet

Filter Feeder

Activity

Cathemeral

Social

Colony

Biome

Coastal estuary

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Armor

Status

Uncommon

About

This bivalve mollusk dwells in the coastal waters of North America. A single oyster filters up to fifty gallons of seawater every day to feed.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   juvenile

   A juvenile mollusk takes adult form after its larval phase and begins building or growing its shell.
2. 2.
   adult

   Fully grown at adult shell size or body length.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →
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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Mollusca

Class

Bivalvia

Order

Ostreida

Family

Ostreidae

Genus

Crassostrea

Species

Crassostrea virginica