World Register of Introduced Marine Species (WRiMS) - Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791)

(of Ostrea virginica Gmelin, 1791) Gmelin, J. F. (1791). Vermes. In: Gmelin J.F. (Ed.) Caroli a Linnaei Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Ed. 13. Tome 1(6). G.E. Beer, Lipsiae [Leipzig]. pp. 3021-3910. Systema Naturae. Linneaeus (ed.). Ed. 13. 1: pars. 6., available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/83098#5
page(s): 3336 [details]

Descriptive notes

Distribution Gulf of St. Lawrence (unspecified region), southern Gaspe waters (Baie des Chaleurs, Gaspe Bay to American, Orphan and...

Distribution Gulf of St. Lawrence (unspecified region), southern Gaspe waters (Baie des Chaleurs, Gaspe Bay to American, Orphan and Bradelle banks; eastern boundary: Eastern Bradelle valley), Magdalen Islands (from eastern Bradelle valley to the west, as far as Cape North, including the Cape Breton Channel); Prince Edward Island (from the northern tip of Miscou Island, N.B. to Cape Breton Island south of Cheticamp, including the Northumberland Strait and Georges Bay to the Canso Strait causeway); West Indies [details]

Taxonomic citation

MolluscaBase eds. (2025). MolluscaBase. Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140657 on 2025-07-17

Taxonomic edit history

Date

action

2004-12-21 15:54:05Z

created

Gofas, Serge

Licensing

The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

[taxonomic tree]

Nomenclature

original description (of Ostrea virginica Gmelin, 1791) Gmelin, J. F. (1791). Vermes. In: Gmelin J.F. (Ed.) Caroli a Linnaei Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Ed. 13. Tome 1(6). G.E. Beer, Lipsiae [Leipzig]. pp. 3021-3910. Systema Naturae. Linneaeus (ed.). Ed. 13. 1: pars. 6., available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/83098#5
page(s): 3336 [details]

original description (of Lopha gibsonsmithi Macsotay & Campos, 2001) Macsotay, O.; Campos Villarroel, R. (2001). Moluscos representativos de la plataforma de Margarita, Venezuela. Editora Rivolta, Valencia, Venezuela, iii + 280 pp. + 32 pls. (look up in IMIS) [details]

original description (of Dioeciostrea americana Orton, 1928) Orton J.H. (1928). The dominant species of Ostrea. Nature. 121 (3044): 320-321., available online at https://doi.org/10.1038/121320b0
note: names in this paper are unavailable because there is a disclaimer on p. 121. [details] Available for editors

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original description (of Ostrea borealis Lamarck, 1819) Lamarck, [J.-B. M.] de. (1819). Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres. Tome sixième, 1re partie, vi + 343 pp. Paris, published by the author. , available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/47441
page(s): 204 [details]

original description (of Ostrea canadensis Lamarck, 1819) Lamarck, [J.-B. M.] de. (1819). Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres. Tome sixième, 1re partie, vi + 343 pp. Paris, published by the author. , available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/47441 [details]

original description (of Ostraea floridensis G. B. Sowerby II, 1871) Sowerby, G. B. II. (1870-1871). Monograph of the genus Ostraea. In: Conchologia Iconica, or, illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 18, pl. 1-33 and unpaginated text. L. Reeve & Co., London. [stated dates: pl. 2-5, October 1870; pl. 6-13, January 1871; pl. 14-16, February 1871; pl. 17-27, September 1871; pl. 1, 28-33, November 1871]. , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8209078
page(s): Sp. 76 [details]

original description (of Ostraea reniformis G. B. Sowerby II, 1871) Sowerby, G. B. II. (1870-1871). Monograph of the genus Ostraea. In: Conchologia Iconica, or, illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 18, pl. 1-33 and unpaginated text. L. Reeve & Co., London. [stated dates: pl. 2-5, October 1870; pl. 6-13, January 1871; pl. 14-16, February 1871; pl. 17-27, September 1871; pl. 1, 28-33, November 1871]. , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8209078 [details]

original description (of Ostrea virginiana Röding, 1798) Röding, P. F. (1798). Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturæ quæ olim collegerat Joa. Fried Bolten, M. D. p. d. per XL. annos proto physicus Hamburgensis. Pars secunda continens Conchylia sive Testacea univalvia, bivalvia & multivalvia. Trapp, Hamburg, viii + 199 pp., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16230659 [details]

original description (of Ostrea virginiana var. procyon F. S. Holmes, 1858 †) Holmes, F. S. (1858-1860). Post-Pleiocene fossils of South-Carolina. Russell & Jones, Charleston, SC, xii + v + 122 pp., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12524898
page(s): 9-10, pl. 2, fig. 9 [details]

basis of record Amaral V.S. do & Simone L.R.L. (2014) Revision of genus Crassostrea (Bivalvia: Ostreidae) of Brazil. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 94(4): 811–836. [Published online 19 February 2014; Code-compliant paper version published June 2014] [details] Available for editors

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basis of record Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca. in: Costello, M.J. et al. (eds), European Register of Marine Species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Patrimoines Naturels. 50: 180-213., available online at http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/ocrd/254404.pdf [details]

Other

context source (Introduced species) Katsanevakis, S.; Bogucarskis, K.; Gatto, F.; Vandekerkhove, J.; Deriu, I.; Cardoso A.S. (2012). Building the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN): a novel approach for the exploration of distributed alien species data. BioInvasions Records. 1: 235-245., available online at http://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu [details] Available for editors

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context source (Bermuda) Jensen, R. H. (1997). A Checklist and Bibliography of the Marine Molluscs of Bermuda. Unp. , 547 pp [details]

additional source Brunel, P., L. Bosse & G. Lamarche. (1998). Catalogue of the marine invertebrates of the estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 126. 405 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details] Available for editors

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additional source Streftaris, N., A. Zenetos & E. Papathanassiou. (2005). Globalisation in marine ecosystems: the story of non-indigenous marine species across European seas. Oceanogry and Marine Biology: an Annual Review. 43: 419-453. (look up in IMIS) [details] Available for editors

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additional source Turgeon, D. D., W. G. Lyons, P. Mikkelsen, G. Rosenberg, and F. Moretzsohn. 2009. Bivalvia (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 711–744 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, Colleg [details] Available for editors

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additional source Huber, M. (2010). Compendium of bivalves. A full-color guide to 3,300 of the world's marine bivalves. A status on Bivalvia after 250 years of research. Hackenheim: ConchBooks. 901 pp., 1 CD-ROM. (look up in IMIS) [details]

additional source Winkley, H. W. (1904). A distorted oyster. The Nautilus. 18(2): 24., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1816991 [details]

additional source Gunter, G. & Menzel, R. W. (1957). The crown conch, Melongena corona, as a predator upon the Virginia oyster. The Nautilus. 70(3): 84-87., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8520751 [details]

additional source Bierbaum, V. M. (1964). Oyster chromatogram. The Nautilus. 78(3): 64-65., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8521363 [details]

additional source Margolis, S. V. & Carver, R. E. (1974). Microsculpture of chalky deposits found in shells of the oyster Crassostrea virginica. The Nautilus. 88(2): 62-65, fig. 1., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8097399 [details]

additional source Ogle, J. (1976). The occurrence of the date mussel, Lithophaga bisulcata (Mytilidae) in living oysters off Galveston, Texas. The Nautilus. 90(2): 74-76, figs. 1-2., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8276439 [details]

additional source Durve, V. S. (1975). On the specificity of Madras backwater oyster Crassostrea madrasensis Preston and the American oyster Crassostrea virginica Gmelin. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 71(2): 226-234., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48286425 [details]

additional source de Kluijver, M. J.; Ingalsuo, S. S.; de Bruyne, R. H. (2000). Macrobenthos of the North Sea [CD-ROM]: 1. Keys to Mollusca and Brachiopoda. World Biodiversity Database CD-ROM Series. Expert Center for Taxonomic Identification (ETI): Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ISBN 3-540-14706-3. 1 cd-rom. (look up in IMIS) [details]

biology source Tepolt, C. K. (2014). Adaptation in marine invasion: a genetic perspective. Biological Invasions. 17(3): 887-903., available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-014-0825-8
note: Here, I review evidence for adaptation in marine invasion, considering both quantitative and genetic studies. [details] Available for editors

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Present

Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio

Inaccurate

Introduced: alien

Containing type locality

From regional or thematic species database

Introduced species abundance in Ireland (Nation) : Rare [details]

Introduced species impact United Kingdom part of the Celtic Sea (Marine Region) Other impact - undefined or uncertain [details]

Introduced species impact United Kingdom part of the English Channel (Marine Region) Other impact - undefined or uncertain [details]

Introduced species impact United Kingdom part of the North Sea (Marine Region) Other impact - undefined or uncertain [details]

Introduced species impact in United States (Nation) : Other impact - undefined or uncertain [details]

Introduced species impact in North Sea (IHO Sea Area) : Water abstraction or nuisance fouling [details]

Introduced species impact Chinese part of the Yellow Sea (Marine Region) Water abstraction or nuisance fouling [details]

Introduced species impact Chinese part of the Yellow Sea (Marine Region) Outcompetes native species for resources and/or space [details]

Introduced species impact Chinese part of the Yellow Sea (Marine Region) Genetic impacts: hybridisation and introgression [details]

Introduced species population United Kingdom part of the North Sea (Marine Region) Not established [details]

Introduced species population United Kingdom part of the Celtic Sea (Marine Region) Not established [details]

Introduced species population United Kingdom part of the English Channel (Marine Region) Not established [details]

Introduced species population trend in United States (Nation) : Increasing [details]

Introduced species vector dispersal United Kingdom part of the Celtic Sea (Marine Region) Aquaculture [details]

Introduced species vector dispersal United Kingdom part of the English Channel (Marine Region) Aquaculture [details]

Introduced species vector dispersal United States part of the North Pacific Ocean (Marine Region) Aquaculture: deliberate [details]

Introduced species vector dispersal United Kingdom part of the North Sea (Marine Region) Aquaculture: deliberate [details]

Introduced species vector dispersal Chinese part of the Yellow Sea (Marine Region) Aquaculture [details]

Introduced species vector dispersal in French part of the Bay of Biscay (Marine Region) : Aquaculture: deliberate [details]

Unreviewed

Dimensions reaches 5 to 15 cm in size [details]

Habitat infralittoral of the Gulf and estuary [details]

Importance edible oyster [details]

Reproduction separate sexes, usually not dimorphic in shell structure; fertilization occurs within the mantle cavity anf young hatch as pelagic larvae (generalized for group) [details]

Definitions

Language	Name
Dutch	Noord-Amerikaanse oesterAmerikaanse oester	[details]
English	eastern oysterblue point oysterAmerican oysterAmerican cupped oyster	[details]
French	huître creuse américaine	[details]
German	Amerikanische Auster	[details]