Gigantostrea
Appearance
| Gigantostrea Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Fossil shell of Gigantostrea gigantica from Oligocene | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Ostreida |
| Family: | Gryphaeidae |
| Genus: | †Gigantostrea Sacco, 1897 |
Gigantostrea is an extinct genus of marine bivalve mollusks belonging to the family Gryphaeidae.[1]
This genus is known in the fossil record from the Eocene to the Miocene (age range: from 48.6 to 15.97 million years ago).[2] These fossils have been found in Europe and United States.[2][3]
Description
[edit]Shells of Gigantostrea gigantica can reach a size of about 100 millimetres (3.9 in).[4] These fossil shells are brittle, inequivalve, with the lower valve convex and the upper valve flat or slightly concave. The lower valve was cemented to the substrate.
Species
[edit]Species within this genus include:[2]
- †Gigantostrea gigantica Solander in Brander 1766
- †Gigantostrea trigonalis Conrad 1854
References
[edit]- ^ Encyclopedia of life
- ^ a b c Fossilworks
- ^ GBIF
- ^ "Ostreoidea". International Fossil Shells Museum.
External links
[edit]