---
title: "Gewone oester"
description: "Ostrea edulis — Andere dieren. Ostrea edulis, commonly known as the European flat oyster, is a species of oyster native to Europe."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/european-flat-oyster
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Gewone oester

> Ostrea edulis — Andere dieren. Ostrea edulis, commonly known as the European flat oyster, is a species of oyster native to Europe.

- Scientific name: *Ostrea edulis*
- Category: `other` (Andere dieren)
- Habitats: `sea` (Zee en kust)
- iNaturalist observations: 5659
- Wikidata: [Q729678](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q729678)
- iNaturalist taxon: [53462](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/53462)

## Names

- en: European Flat Oyster
- de: Europäische Auster
- es: Ostra común
- fr: Huître plate
- nl: Gewone oester
- pl: Ostryga jadalna

## Countries with the most observations

US (982), GB (978), FR (331), DK (260), IE (173), DE (168), ES (152), NL (138), GR (92), PT (88), IT (69), JE (59)

## Summary

Ostrea edulis, commonly known as the European flat oyster, is a species of oyster native to Europe. In Great Britain and Ireland, localized names include Colchester native oyster, mud oyster, or edible oyster. In France, Ostrea edulis are known as huîtres plates (flat oysters) except for those that come from the Belon River estuary in Brittany, France, which are known as Belons.
The fossil record of this species dates back to the Miocene (age range: 15.97 million years ago to present day). Fossils have been found in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Egypt, Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom, Austria, France and Germany.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrea_edulis

## Photo

![Gewone oester](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/european-flat-oyster/medium.jpg)

Photo: Carter Dorscht · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244740743

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/european-flat-oyster?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).