*Eastern Oyster

*Crassostrea virginica

The Eastern Oyster has a long pear shaped shell, which can grow up to ten cm during its life. It comes from reef areas and costal areas. The Eastern Oyster’s domain is Eukaryote. Its kingdom is Anamalia. Its phylum is Molluska. Eastern Oyster’s class is Bivalvia. Its order is Ostereo, family is Osteidae, genus is Crassostrea. The Eastern Oyster’s species is virginica. The Eastern Oyster has bilateral symmetry and is endothermic. This organism is also heterotrophic. One behavioral adaptation of the Eastern Oyster is all their lives they live on a colonized bed and compete for bed space. A structural adaptation of the Eastern Oyster is their shell is dirt gray to blend in with the sand. One functional adaptation of the Eastern Oyster is if it gets separated from it’s bed it can reattach to another bed! A fun fact about the Eastern Oyster is it has the ability to change it’s gender!

Crassostrea virginica By Paula Osborne

http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Crassostrea_virginica/