Date Received: 26-05-2026 / Date Accepted: 12-09-2026 / Date Published: 30-10-2026
In aquaculture practice and many scientific publications in Vietnam, the commonly cultured cupped oyster is often referred to as the milky oyster or Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. However, this designation may not accurately reflect the identity of the cultured populations. This review synthesizes and organizes taxonomic, seed-origin, and molecular-identification evidence to clarify the appropriate scientific name for the commonly cultured cupped oyster in Vietnam. The evidence indicates that: (i) C. angulata and C. gigas are morphologically similar but can be distinguished using molecular markers; (ii) oyster populations examined in Taiwan and southern China, regions associated with seed sources introduced into Vietnam, were identified as C. angulata; and (iii) cultured oysters analyzed from Quang Ninh and Hai Phong in the 2017 study, and from Quang Ninh, Khanh Hoa, and Vung Tau in the 2025 study, were all identified as C. angulata based on mtCOI data. Accordingly, we propose the use of C. angulata for the commonly cultured cupped oyster in Vietnam; under the currently accepted taxonomy, Magallana angulata may be used in scientific publications. The contribution of this review is the synthesis and hierarchical evaluation of existing evidence to resolve inconsistent species identification and support standardized scientific nomenclature for this cultured oyster.
