Platyceramus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Platyceramus Fossil range: Cretaceous |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||||||
|
Several, including: |
Platyceramus was a genus of Cretaceous bivalve molluscs belonging to the extinct inoceramid lineage. It is sometimes classified as a subgenus of Inoceramus.
The largest and best known species is P. platinus. Individuals of this species typically reached 1 m (3 feet 3 inches) or more in axial length, but fossil specimens 3 m (nearly 10 feet) long have been found, making it the largest known bivalve. Its huge but very thin shell often provided shelter for schools of small fish, some of which became trapped and fossilized themselves, and the outer shell often provided habitat for oysters and barnacles. Shells containing pearls have also been discovered.
[edit] External links
- Paleoecology of giant Inoceramidae (Platyceramus) on a Santonian (Cretaceous) seafloor in Colorado
- Natural History Museum: Savage Ancient Seas
- Invertebrate fossils of Kansas article
 |
This paleontology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This mollusc-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
