Eastern Oyster

(Crassostrea virginica)

CALL ME PEARL

Diet

  • Filter feeders: eat phytoplankton and algae floating by in the water


Agility

  • Float through the water as young plankton and then settle to the floor and cannot move for the rest of their life


Defense Mechanisms

  • Use their adductor muscles to shut their shells together very tightly

  • Can be up to 10 pounds of pressure holding their shells together, making it almost impossible to open

  • If stepped on they could puncture, scrape, or stab the skin of an animal


Superpower

  • One oyster can filter ~50 gallons of water a day