Pinctada maxima
species of mollusc
Pinctada maxima is a species of pearl oyster, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Pteriidae, the pearl oysters. There are two different color varieties: the Gold-lipped oyster and the Silver-lipped oyster. These bivalves are the largest pearl oysters in the world. They have a very strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as "mother of pearl" and are important to the cultured pearl industry as they are cultivated to produce South Sea pearls.
The South Sea pearl or Philippine pearl was declared by Philippine President Fidel Ramos as the national gem in 1996 through Proclamation No. 905. The oyster and pearl are depicted on the reverse side of the Philippine New Generation Currency Series 1,000-peso bill.
Description
Pinctada maxima oysters grow very large, up to 12 in (30 cm) in diameter.
The two color varieties have different coloration in the outer edge of the interior. This mother of pearl or nacre is responsible for the color of the pearls that the oyster can produce.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Pinctada maxima” as species of mollusc. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3658757. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1996.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pinctada maxima” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.