The name oyster is used for a number of different groups of molluscs which grow for the most part in marine or brackish water. The shell, usually highly calcified, surrounds a soft body. Gills filter plankton from the water, and strong adductor muscles are used to hold the shell closed. Some of these groups are highly prized as food, both raw and cooked.

True oysters

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The "true oysters" are the members of the family Ostreidae, and this includes the edible oysters, which mainly belong to the genera Ostrea, Crassostrea, Ostreola or Saccostrea. Examples are the Edible Oyster, Ostrea edulis, Eastern Oyster Crassostrea virginica, Olympia Oyster Ostreola conchaphila, Pacific Oyster Crassostrea gigas, Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata, and the Wellfleet oyster,

Physical characteristics

• Oysters are filter-feeders, drawing water in over its gills through the beating of cilia. Suspended food plankton and particles are trapped in the mucus of the gills and transported to the mouth, where they will be eaten, digested and expelled as feces or pseudofeces. Feeding activity is greatest in oysters when water temperatures are above 50°F (~10°C). Healthy oysters consume algae and other water-borne nutrients, each one filtering up to five liters of water per hour. Scientists believe that the Chesapeake Bay's once-flourishing oyster populations historically filtered the estuary's entire water volume of excess nutrients every three or four days. Today that process would take almost a year. Sediment, nutrients, and algae can cause problems in Bay waters. Oysters filter these pollutants, and either eat them or shape them into small packets that are deposited on the bottom where they are harmless.

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