Alan Davidson

European Oyster

Ostrea edulis Linnaeus

Appears in
top 1000North Atlantic Seafood
North Atlantic Seafood

By Alan Davidson

Published 1980

  • About

Family Ostreidae

  • Portuguese: Ostra plana
  • Spanish: Ostra
  • French: Huître, Huître plate
  • Dutch: Oester
  • German: Auster
  • Polish: Ostryga
  • Russian: Ustritsa
  • Finnish: Osteri
  • Swedish: Ostron
  • Norwegian: Østers
  • Danish: Østers
  • Icelandic: Ostra
  • Other: Llymarch (Welsh)

REMARKS Maximum length about 11 cm, but larger specimens can be found. (All oysters tend to grow to fit their habitat and are likely to have distorted shapes, which may be exceptionally long.) The colour of the shells is variable; and they are covered by a thin, brownish periostracum.