Pearls within a pearl oyster shell. Pearl oysters are important products in Japan, as they produce beautiful pearls that are sought after for necklaces, earrings, and rings. Disclaimer ...

A retractable foot, a siphon for sucking up water, powerful muscles, and, sometimes, a pearl ... Like oysters and mussels, clams are bivalves, a kind of mollusk that's encased in a shell made ...

The oyster or mussel slowly secretes layers of aragonite and conchiolin, materials that also make up its shell. This creates a material called nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, which encases the ...