| P number: | P521037 |
|---|---|
| Caption: | A fossil specimen of Lima hettangiensis Terquem. A fossil bivalve. (Mollusca, Bivalvia.) On shore 0.5 miles north-east of Dunrobin Castle, Golspie, Sutherland, Scotland. |
| Description: | Lima is a bivalve with an equivalve shell but elongated towards the front. The hinge line is mostly toothless. Its adductor scar is well to the rear with a slight gape at the front. British Geological Survey Biostratigraphy Collection number GSE 3352. Normally attached to the sea floor by means of a byssus, a horny, fibrous outgrowth from the body it can swim to escape predators. It swims by valve clapping and with the mantle prolonged into 'tentacles' which row like oars. It is thought that Lima would not have sunk rapidly once they had stopped swimming because of the drag effects of the stiff tentacles as with modern day species of Lima. The specimen is from the Lower Lias of Golspie. The Lower Lias succession at Dunrobin Castle forms a condensed succession of 72 metres of argillaceous deltaic sediments, 22 metres of soft white quartzose sandstone with shale partings, drifted plant remains and 18 metres of dark micaceous and often marine shales. |
| Date taken: | Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT 2003 |
| Photographer: | Unknown |
| Copyright statement: | NERC |
| Orientation: | Landscape |
| Size: | 251.98 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 |
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