Interesting facts about the European Oyster

Scientific name:  Ostrea edulis
Common name: European oyster (German name: Europäische Auster)
Size: 12 to 20 centimeters
Age at sexual maturity: 3-4 years
Distribution area: Atlantic Ocean from Norwegen to Portugal and the Mediterranean. In Germany and Belgium the species is considered extinct
Habitat:            low water line to a depth of 40 meters
Biology: the free floating oyster larvae settle after a few days to a few weeks.  Once they settle and become established on appropriate hard substrates (preferential oyster and mussel shells), they remain as sessile organisms there
Diet:

plankton organisms filtered from seawater

Due to their significant ecological properties, Karl Möbius introduced the term biocenosis in 1877 on the basis of the oyster bank.

 

"Geschätzte Meerestiere", Künstlerische Forschung zu Ökosystemdienstleistungen von Europäischen Hummern und Austern, 2017/2018, Helgoland. Zeichnung von ©Nicole Schuck , "Ostrea edulis - siedeln", 2018.
Blei- und Buntstift auf Papier, 100 x 70 cm.
"Geschätzte Meerestiere", Künstlerische Forschung zu Ökosystemdienstleistungen von Europäischen Hummern und Austern, 2017/2018, Helgoland. Zeichnung von ©Nicole Schuck , "Ostrea edulis - siedeln", 2018.
Blei- und Buntstift auf Papier, 100 x 70 cm. (Photo: Lutz Bertram, Berlin)