the.com/oyster
a creature that can switch sexes and accidentally make gemstones while just trying to live
means A soft-bodied marine mollusc that lives inside a hard, hinged shell, prized both as food and as the occasional producer of pearls.
from From Old French 'oistre,' which came from Latin 'ostrea,' itself borrowed from Greek 'ostreon' — all rooted in a sense of 'shell' or 'bone-hard covering,' a cousin of Greek 'osteon' (bone) and 'ostrakon' (a potsherd or shell used as a voting token in ancient Athens). So the name simply means 'the hard-shelled thing,' which is exactly what you notice before you ever notice the pearl.
- sex switch
- Many oysters change gender multiple times in life
- water filter
- One oyster cleans up to 50 gallons daily
- accidental pearls
- Pearls form to wall off irritating intruders
- heartbeat
- They have a tiny three-chambered heart
- reef builders
- Their shells create habitat for countless other species
chesapeake bay oyster — virginia and maryland's iconic shellfish, producing 50% of us oysters historically
belon oyster — brittany, france's prized flat oyster with green gills from algae in the river
kumamoto oyster — japanese variety now farmed in pacific northwest, known for small sweet cups