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A team from the Wadden Sea Centre in Denmark say they believe to have found the world's largest oyster.
Coming in at 35.5 cm (13.97 inches) and weighing 2 kilos (4.4 lbs) it was found in the Wadden Sea and is still alive. The organism is so large that it actually has a number of smaller oysters now growing on its shell.
Klaus Melbye, who runs the centre, says he is very happy about the find: "It's an extremely big oyster and it's fantastic - it may be the biggest one in the world and is certainly one of the biggest we've ever found.
"My staff called me immediately and said we've found this oyster that's as big as a 44 shoe. We think it must be about 20-years-old but first we must cut it before we can find out.
"In the first years they grow from 3-7 cm (1.18-2.75 inches) a year and as they get older they begin to grow much slower, maybe 1 cm (1/3 inch) a year or less. We think it's fantastic and we really think it's the biggest in the world - it must be.''
"We think it's edible - we've found other big oysters out there and the quality of the meat is OK - not always - some of them are thin and look almost like glass but this could be OK."
The team have sent their find to Guinness in hopes the oyster will be certified as the biggest in the world - there's some hesitance at the fact that the oyster's curve makes it difficult to measure exactly.
In 2012 Richard Mesce in California found what is officially classed as the world's largest oyster measuring in at 33 cm long (13 inches) and 15 cm (6 inches) wide. The team at the Wadden Sea Centre hope to have their oyster, which is now living in a tank inside the centre, officially measured and are confident it will take the title as the world's largest.
