Pinctada maxima
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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
Pinctada maxima 3
Internal and external appearance of shell
Snails Italy
Nacre
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Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organic–inorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong,
Pinctada maxima
…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…
The iridescent nacre inside a nautilus shell
Nacreous shell worked into a decorative object
Electron microscopy image of a fractured surface of nacre
Fossil nautiloid shell with original iridescent nacre in fossiliferous asphaltic limestone, Oklahoma. Dated to the late Middle Pennsylvanian, which makes it by far the oldest deposit in the world with aragonitic nacreous shelly fossils.