P number: | P521019 |
---|---|
Caption: | A fossil specimen of Gryphaea arcuata Lamarck. A fossil bivalve. (Mollusca, Bivalvia.) Shore east of Hallaig Cottage, south side of waterfall, Raasay, Invernessshire, Scotland. |
Description: | A member of the oyster family but unlike modern oysters, which are attached to the substrate, Gryphaea was free living for most of its life. It was attached initially to some hard substrate but as its shell grew its area of attachment did not increase and the shell tipped over to rest on its convex left valve on the sea floor. British Geological Survey Biostratigraphy Collection number GSE 2194. This specimen from the Lower Lias (Lower Jurassic) semicostatum zone would have lived in the enormous, generally shallow epicontinental sea that formed after the marine transgression at the beginning of the Jurassic. This fossil was found on the shore east of Hallaig Cottage, south side of waterfall, Raasay. Bivalves first appeared in the Mid Cambrian about 500 million years ago. |
Date taken: | Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT 2003 |
Photographer: | Unknown |
Copyright statement: | NERC |
Orientation: | Landscape |
Size: | 140.21 KB; 1000 x 665 pixels; 85 x 56 mm (print at 300 DPI); 265 x 176 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
Average Rating: | Not yet rated |
Categories: | Best of BGS Images/ Fossils |
Reviews
There is currently no feedback