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Pinctada margaritifera

Parau

Black-lipped Pearl-oyster

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult, Guam	77KB
Image:	Shell and pearls, Rarotonga	41KB
Image:	Pearl seeding, Tuamotu Archipelago	39KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Black-lipped Pearl-oyster

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Parau (RR), Pārau (MG AK TW), Pālau (TS PK)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, near-shore

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornament

Enlarged Image of 'Pinctada margaritifera'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: -
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
-	+	-	-	-	^+		-	-

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
P	P	-	+	-	+

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Pinctada margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758)
SYNONYMS: Meleagrina margaritifera

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; MOLLUSCA; PELECYPODA (Bivalvia); LAMELLIBRANCHIA; Anisomyaria (=Filibranchia); PTERIIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: Morgan 766-767. Aitutaki: fieldspecimen, NBSAP School, 12/2000, ID GM. Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 1985, in submerged frames, G.McCormack with ID as Pinctada margaritifera

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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