Pinctada margaritifera is a species of pearl oyster, a saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Pteriidae. This species is common in the Indo-Pacific within tropical coral reefs. It occupies a wide range throughout the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Sudan, Papua New Guinea, Australia, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Southwestern part of the Indian Ocean, Japan and the Pacific Ocean, and various locations on the coast of India. Pinctada margaritifera occur in coral reef areas. These suspension feeders are able to thrive in low phytoplankton conditions. The pearl oyster attaches itself to barnacles and other hard substrates via a byssus. They thrive at intertidal and subtidal zones, at depths from the low tide to up to 75 meters. Habitats are usually characterized as oligotrophic and having low turbidity. Other species, including sponges, hydroids, polychaetes, lamellibranchs, amphipods, decapods, echinoderms, and fishes, usually have close relationships with pearl oyster beds.