Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Subclass: Pteriomorphia
Order: Ostreida
Superfamily: Ostreoidea
Family: Ostreidae
Subfamily: Crassostreinae
Genus: Crassostrea
Similar species: Ostrea edulis
Previously known as: Ostrea virginica Gmelin
![](https://temperatereefs.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Eastern_Oyster_Crassostrea_virginica_Top_16116198647.jpg)
Biological Information/Life History
Spat Growth Rate | 25 mm per year (NOAA) |
Size at maturity | 20 cm (NOAA) |
Life span | < 20 years (NOAA) |
Mating/spawning season | Early summer (NOAA) |
Sessile vs non sessile | Sessile |
Reproduction | Spawning |
Age for reproduction | > 1.5 years |
Number of offspring | > 100 million |
Role in food chain | Filter feeder (Newell et al. 1983) |
Dispersal distance | N/A |
Common diseases: Dermo, MSX (NOAA)
Environmental Tolerances
Temperature Range | 2-36°C (Sarinsky et al. 2005) |
Salinity | 10-30ppt (Sarinsky et al. 2005) |
Depth found at | 0.6-8.0 m |
Human Uses
Popular in aquaculture. Often commercially harvested for food.
Fun Fact
Eastern oysters begin their life as male then mature to become females.
![](https://temperatereefs.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/icon-1.png)
References
Abeels, H. A., Loh, A. N., & Volety, A. K. (2012). Trophic transfer and habitat use of oyster Crassostrea virginica reefs in southwest Florida , identified by stable isotope analysis. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 462, 125–142. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09824
Claire Antonucci, R. H., & Yuhas, and C. (1880). Eastern Oyster. Retrieved from http://njseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/eastern-oyster.pdf
Haven, S., & Morales-Alamo, R. (1970). Filtration of particles from suspension by the American Oyster Crassostrea virginica. The Biological Bulletin, 139, 248–264. Retrieved from https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/1540081
Hayes, P., & Menzel, R. W. (1981). The reproductive cycle of early setting crassostrea virginica (gmelin) in the northern gulf of mexico, and its implications for population recruitment. (January 1980), 80–88. Retrieved from https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/1540902
Kingsley-smith, A. P. R., Harwell, H. D., Kellogg, M. L., Allen, S. M., Allen, S. K., Kingsley-smith, P. R., … Luckenbach, M. W. (2009). Survival and Growth of Triploid Crassostrea virginica ( Gmelin , 1791 ) and C . ariakensis ( Fujita , 1913 ) in Bottom Environments of Chesapeake Bay : Implications for an Introduction. Shellfish Research, 28, 169–184. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250181368_Survival_and_Growth_of_Triploid_Crassostrea_virginica_Gmelin_1791_and_C_ariakensis_Fujita_1913_in_Bottom_Environments_of_Chesapeake_Bay_Implications_for_an_Introduction
Kingsley-smith, A. P. R., Joyce, R. E., Arnott, S. A., Roumillat, W. A., Mcdonough, C. J., Kingsley-smith, P. R., … Reichert, M. J. M. (2019). Habitat use of Intertidal Eastern Oyster ( Crassostrea virginica ) Reefs by Nekton in South Carolina Estuaries. 31(4), 1009–1021. https://doi.org/10.2983/035.031.0413
Nestlerode, J. A., Luckenbach, M. W., & O’beirn, F. X. (2007). Settlement and survival of the oyster crassostrea virginica on created oyster reef habitats in Chesapeake Bay. Restoration Ecology, 15(2), 273–283. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2007.00210.x
Newel, R. I. E., & Jordan, S. J. (1983). Preferential ingestion of organic material by the American oyster Crassostrea virginica *. 13, 47–53. Retrieved from http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US201302199982
NOAA. (2019). Oysters. 1–11. Retrieved from https://chesapeakebay.noaa.gov/fish-facts/oysters
Smith, K., (2015). Eastern Oyster Crassostrea virginica ( Gmelin , 1791 ). (McLean 1941), 1–12. Retrieved from http://www.dnr.sc.gov/swap/supplemental/marine/easternoyster2015.pdf
Sarinsky, G., Carroll, M. A., Nduka, E., & Catapane, E. J. (2005). Growth and survival of the American oyster Crassostrea virginica in Jamaica Bay, New York. In Vivo, 27(1), 15–26. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26862590%0Ahttp://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=PMC4744623
THIS FISH. (2019). Traceable Species Eastern Oyster. Retrieved from https://thisfish.info/fishery/species/Eastern-oyster/