World's largest oyster found and is bigger than size nine shoe

The world’s largest oyster, which measures 14 inches long, has been found in Denmark.

16:48 24 February 2014

A 14-inch long oyster, which is now considered the world’s largest as confirmed by the Guinness World Records, has been found in Denmark.

The crustacean, which was found in October in Wadden Sea National park just off the north sea, is still alive and growing.

Klaus Melbye, from the Wadden Centre said: 'My staff called me immediately and said we've found this oyster that's as big as a 44 shoe (around a UK size 9.5).'

Meanwhile, Christine Ditlefsen, a biologist at the Wadden Sea Centre said:  'The oyster is still alive and is on display in our exhibition here at the Wadden Sea Centre.

'We feed it plankton algae and it eats well, so we hope that we can keep it alive for many years.

'It is 15-20 years old, and probably one of the first Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas) that came to our part of the Wadden Sea.

'To know the exact age, we will have to wait until it dies a natural death - hopefully in many years - oysters are recorded to be 30 years old.

'After the oyster is dead it is possible to make a cut in the shell, and here it is possible to count the growth layers - and then we will know the exact age.’

 

*Image of standard oyster shell for illustrative purposes only