Pteriidae: Pinctada margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) (‘black-lip pearl-oyster’)

Synonym(s): margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758 sinensis Leach, 1814 nigromarginata Saville-Kent, 1893.

Typical shell-length 150 mm. Lives intertidally and subtidally. Native. Occurs in northern and eastern Australia (WA, NT, QLD, NSW and TAS); also elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific. In Tasmania this species has only been found as juveniles attached to floating pumice which has drifted from warmer waters.