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Occurrence and characterization of pearls from oysters of the genus Crassostrea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2016

Frederico M. Batista ,
Ana Grade ,
Deborah M. Power ,
Francisco Ruano  and
Elizabeth M. Harper
Frederico M. Batista*
Affiliation:
Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Divisão de Aquicultura e Valorização, Estação Experimental de Moluscicultura de Tavira, Av. 5 de Outubro, 8700-305 Olhão, Portugal Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Ana Grade
Affiliation:
Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Divisão de Aquicultura e Valorização, Estação Experimental de Moluscicultura de Tavira, Av. 5 de Outubro, 8700-305 Olhão, Portugal
Deborah M. Power
Affiliation:
Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Francisco Ruano
Affiliation:
Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), Divisão de Aquacultura e Valorização, Av. de Brasília 6, 1449-006, Lisboa, Portugal
Elizabeth M. Harper
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to:F.M. Batista, Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal Email: fmbatista@yahoo.com
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Abstract

The occurrence of pearls in the ‘true’ oysters, the Ostreioidea, is poorly documented despite being the most produced mollusc species in the world. Oysters of the Crassostrea genus were collected in two different sites in southern Portugal where both Crassostrea angulata and C. gigas are present, namely in: (1) the Ria Formosa lagoon where pearls were not observed (N = 446); and (2) the Guadiana estuary where pearls were found in 12 out of the 798 oysters analysed. The pearls were located mainly at the edge of the right mantle lobe in the inhalant chamber and their maximum length ranged from 0.9 to 5.5 mm. Almost all the pearls had a white-cream colouration with the exception of two pearls that had a black-brown colour. X-ray diffraction analysis of one pearl showed that it was entirely calcitic with no traces of either aragonite or vaterite. The pearls observed were therefore non-nacreous pearls. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a diversity of microstructures including prismatic, foliae-like sheets and blocky textures, i.e. highly reminiscent of the host oyster shell microstructures. Parasites (e.g. parasitic copepods, Haplosporidium-like plasmodia) and signs of diseases (e.g. foot disease) were observed in some of the oysters analysed, but they were not associated with the occurrence of pearls. The present work is one of the few studies on the occurrence of natural pearls in ‘true’ oysters and to our knowledge the first description of their microstructure by SEM.

Keywords

PearlsOstreidaeCrassostreamicrostructureparasitesnon-nacreous
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 97 , Issue 2 , March 2017 , pp. 297 - 302
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016 

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