Biology:Gryphaea dilatata

Short description: Extinct species of bivalve

Gryphaea dilatata Temporal range: oxfordian–kimmeridgian PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Gryphaea dilatata, 5½cm long
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Ostreida
Family:	Gryphaeidae
Genus:	†Gryphaea
Species:	†G. dilatata
Binomial name
†Gryphaea dilatata J. Sowerby, 1818

Gryphea dilatata, common name "devil's toenail" is a species of Jurassic oyster, an extinct marine bivalve mollusc in the family Gryphaeidae.

This fossil oyster is frequently found in abundance in the localities where it occurs. It belongs to the Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian clays of the Jurassic and can grow to a diameter in excess of 15 centimetres (5.9 in).

It lived a sedentary life-style, settled on the sea bed and was a filter feeder. Its abundance at certain localities — such as Furzy Cliff, Weymouth, Dorset, (England ) — suggests it often formed large beds of hundreds of individuals.

It is closely related to the similar species Gryphaea dilobotes.

See also

• Gryphaea arcuata
• Jurassic Coast

References

lateral view

Wikidata ☰ Q5612431 entry