Gigantostrea
Gigantostrea Temporal range:
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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[]
Shells of Gigantostrea 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[]
Species within this genus include:[2]
- †Gigantostrea gigantica Solander in Brander 1766
- †Gigantostrea trigonalis Conrad 1854
References[]
External links[]
Categories:
- Gryphaeidae
- Eocene genus first appearances
- Miocene genus extinctions
- Prehistoric bivalve genera
- Bivalve stubs