Pinctada radiata

[boo]

I am doing a short project for a class that I am taking which discusses the pipi of Hawai'i. In this case, pipi doesn't refer to the golden pearls of the Cook Islands, but rather the "pearl oysters" of the 'Ewa region of O'ahu (Pearl Harbor). I want to include a brief description of P. radiata, and I am having a remarkably difficult time googling general information about the creature- even Wikipedia ignores it. I can find metal pollution monitoring studies and farming information, but not any basic information about its physical characteristics and biology. Similarly, a search of this forum didn't really have anything about the organism itself. I do have a copy of the book "Pearls of Pearl Harbor" and while there is a good amount of historical information, all it says about P. radiata is that it produced very small pearls and that the shell is gray with alternating bands of darker gray and white. That's a start, but I'd like to give a little more information than that. I'd appreciate any help you can give!

[jshepherd]

There is quite a bit of info here:
http://www.pearl-guide.com/species-hinged-teeth.shtml

[CortezPearls]

Try Sohei Shirahi's books...there are plenty of his books in libraries, one you could use is "Pearls & Pearl Oysters of the World" (1994).

Altough Jeremy's link does seem to have all the needed information.

[boo]

Thanks, Jeremy! That is exactly what I was looking for. I'm kind of embarassed that I couldn't find it here myself, but I didn't consider that the search feature only yields results for the forum. Left hand sidebar, Pearl Producing Mollusks, all sorts of nifty info...

Pearl-Guide.com is the best-est!

[jerin]

Try Sohei Shirahi's books...there are plenty of his books in libraries, one you could use is "Pearls & Pearl Oysters of the World" (1994).

Altough Jeremy's link does seem to have all the needed information.

Hi Doug,

I have tried to get my hands on this book, but without success! Do You have it? What is the ISBN number? I´ve tried Amazon and some of the other libraries online but to no avail! I have 2 other books from an earlier period of him, one with a personal dedication to someone, which I think is rather thrilling! It is from 1970.

These Cortez pearls are lovely, especielly the ones with the hammered look. A pity to cut them in half! Even for scientific reasons! Think of having one as a pendant...

Thanks for the magnificent photos and the information. Can one buy a pearl directly from You or must we go through a certain company?

Thanks again.

[boo]

Hi, Doug

Thanks for the information. My local library is on the small side, but I think I will see if it might be available through inter-library loan somehow. Inge - I will let you know if I have any luck.

Boo

[jerin]

Hi Boo,

that would be nice! May I compliment You on Your untreated pearls, that You wear so charmingly in the photo! Finally one of our members has the guts to show herself to us other members!

[CortezPearls]

Sorry for the delay. Let me give you the book's complete info:

Shohei Shirai. 1994. Pearls & Pearl Oysters of the World.
Kousoku Printing Co. Ltd. Okinawa, Japan
ISBN: 4-9900287-1-6

Another interesting source is The Pearl Oyster Information Bulletin, a defunct source of information, but that is still available on the WWW.
The information can be freely downloaded in Adobe's PDF format, their page is:
http://www.spc.int/coastfish/News/POIB/14/POIB14.htm

I am quite sure you will find lots of information there. Happy Hunting!