Western Pearlshell

Invertebrates > Freshwater Mussels

The Western Pearlshell (Margaritifera falcata) is an ancient, venerable freshwater bivalve that ranks among the longest-lived animals on planet Earth, with individual mussels routinely living for over a century. Clustered in dense multi-generational beds along clean,...

European Flat Oyster

Invertebrates > Mollusks

The European Flat Oyster (Ostrea edulis), renowned in gastronomy as the Belon Oyster or native oyster, is the indigenous oyster of Western Europe and the Mediterranean. Historically carpeting thousands of square kilometers of the North Sea and English Channel in...

Olympia Oyster

Invertebrates > Mollusks

The Olympia Oyster (Ostrea lurida) is the only oyster species native to the Pacific coast of North America, historically forming expansive, complex biogenic reefs in estuaries from Puget Sound to San Francisco Bay. Celebrated as a culinary delicacy during the Gold...

Maxima Clam

Invertebrates > Mollusks

The Maxima Clam (Tridacna maxima), also known as the Small Giant Clam, is one of the most vividly colorful and widely distributed giant clams inhabiting tropical coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific. Anchoring securely into coral heads on sun-drenched reef flats, its...

Pacific Oyster

Invertebrates > Mollusks

The Pacific Oyster (Magallana gigas, formerly Crassostrea gigas), also known as the Japanese Oyster, is the world’s most widely cultivated and commercially valuable edible oyster species. Originating in the coastal waters of East Asia, its rapid growth rate,...