Platyceramus
| Platyceramus Temporal range: Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Platyceramus platinus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Subclass: | Pteriomorphia |
| Order: | Praecardioida |
| Family: | Inoceramidae |
| Genus: | Platyceramus |
| Species | |
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Several, including: | |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Platyceramus. |
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 ft 3 in) 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.
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 article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, December 18, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.