Inoceramus

Inoceramus (Greek: translation "strong pot") is an extinct genus of fossil marine pteriomorphian bivalves that superficially resembled the related winged pearly oysters of the extant genus Pteria. They lived from the Early Jurassic to latest Cretaceous.[1][2]

Inoceramus
Temporal range: Early Jurassic-Maastrichtian
~189–66 Ma
A 187 cm (74 in) Inoceramus/Sphenoceramus steenstrupi fossil found on the Nuussuaq Peninsula
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Pteriida
Family: Inoceramidae
Genus: Inoceramus
Sowerby, 1814
Species

See text

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of the inoceramids is disputed, with genera such as Platyceramus sometimes classified as subgenus within Inoceramus. Also the number of valid species in this genus is disputed.

Description

Weathered shell fragment of the closely related Cremnoceramus difformis, highlighting the orientation and texture of the calcite prisms of the Inoceramids.

Inoceramids had thick shells composed of "prisms" of calcite deposited perpendicular to the surface, and unweathered fossils commonly preserve the mother-of-pearl luster the shells had in life.[3] Most species have prominent growth lines which appear as raised semicircles concentric to the growing edge of the shell. Paleontologists suggest that the giant size of some species was an adaptation for life in the murky bottom waters, with a correspondingly large gill area that would have allowed the animal to survive in oxygen-deficient waters.[3]

Selected species

  • Inoceramus aequicostatusVoronetz 1937
  • Inoceramus albertensisMcLearn 1926
  • Inoceramus altifluminisMcLearn 1943
  • Inoceramus americanusWalaszczyk & Cobban 2006
  • Inoceramus andinusWilckens 1907
  • Inoceramus anglicusWoods 1911
  • Inoceramus anilisPcelinceva 1962
  • Inoceramus anomalusHeine 1929
  • Inoceramus anomiaeformisFeruglio 1936
  • Inoceramus apicalisWoods 1912
  • Inoceramus arvanusStephenson 1953
  • Inoceramus bellvuensis
  • Inoceramus biformisTuomey, 1854
  • Inoceramus browneiMarwick 1953
  • Inoceramus carsoniMcCoy 1865
  • Inoceramus comancheanus
  • Inoceramus constellatusWoods 1904
  • Inoceramus corpulentusMcLearn 1926
  • Inoceramus coulthardiMcLearn 1926
  • Inoceramus cuvieriSowerby 1814
  • Inoceramus dakotensis
  • Inoceramus dominguesiMaury 1930
  • Inoceramus dowlingiMcLearn 1931
  • Inoceramus dunveganensisMcLearn 1926
  • Inoceramus elburzensisFantini 1966
  • Inoceramus everestiOppel 1862
  • Inoceramus fibrosusMeek & Hayden 1857
  • Inoceramus formosulusVoronetz 1937
  • Inoceramus fragilisHaal & Meek 1856
  • Inoceramus frechiFlegel 1905
  • Inoceramus galoiBoehm 1907
  • Inoceramus gibbosus
  • Inoceramus ginterensisPergament 1966
  • Inoceramus glacierensisWalaszczyk & Cobban 2006
  • Inoceramus haastHochstetter 1863
  • Inoceramus howelliWhite 1876
  • Inoceramus incelebratusPergament 1966
  • Inoceramus inconditusMarwick 1953
  • Inoceramus kystatymensisKoschelkina 1960
  • Inoceramus lamarckiParkinson 1819
  • Inoceramus laterisRossi de Gargia & Camacho 1965
  • Inoceramus mesabiensisBergquist 1944
  • Inoceramus moriiHayami 1959
  • Inoceramus multiformisPergament 1971
  • Inoceramus mytiliformisFantini 1966
  • Inoceramus nipponicusNagao & Matsumoto 1939
  • Inoceramus perplexus
  • Inoceramus pictus
  • Inoceramus pontoniMcLearn 1926
  • Inoceramus porrectusVoronetz 1937
  • Inoceramus prefragilisStephenson 1952
  • Inoceramus proximusTuomey, 1854
  • Inoceramus pseudoluciferAfitsky 1967
  • Inoceramus quenstedtiPcelinceva 1933
  • Inoceramus robertsoniWalaszczyk & Cobban 2006
  • Inoceramus saskatchewanensisWarren 1934
  • Inoceramus selwyniMcLearn 1926
  • Inoceramus sokoloviWalaszczyk & Cobban 2006
  • Inoceramus steinmanniWilckens 1907
  • Inoceramus subdepressusMeek & Hayden 1861
  • Inoceramus tenuirostratusMeek & Hayden 1862
  • Inoceramus triangularisTuomey, 1854
  • Inoceramus undabundusMeek & Hayden 1862
  • Inoceramus ussuriensisVoronetz 1937

Distribution

The Western Interior Seaway that covered North America during the Cretaceous

Species of Inoceramus had a worldwide distribution during the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods (from 189.6 to 66.043 Ma).[1] Many examples are found in the Pierre Shale of the Western Interior Seaway in North America. Inoceramus can also be found abundantly in the Cretaceous Gault Clay that underlies London. Other locations for this fossil include Vancouver Island,[3] British Columbia, Colombia (Hiló Formation, Tolima and La Frontera Formation, Boyacá, Cundinamarca and Huila),[4] Spain, France, Germany, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada (Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Yukon), Chile, China, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Greenland, Hungary, India, Indian Ocean, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Kingdom, United States (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming), and Venezuela.[1]

References

Bibliography

  • Ludvigsen, Rolf; Beard, Graham (1997). West Coast Fossils: A Guide to the Ancient Life of Vancouver Island. pp. 102–103.
  • Acosta Garay, Jorge; Ulloa Melo, Carlos E (2001). Geología de la Plancha 208 Villeta - 1:100,000 (PDF). INGEOMINAS. pp. 1–84. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.

Further reading

  • Kennedy, W.J.; Kauffman, E.G.; Klinger, H.C. (1973). "Upper Cretaceous Invertebrate Faunas from Durban, South Africa". Geological Society of South Africa Transactions. 76 (2): 95–111.
  • Klinger, H.C.; Kennedy, W.J. (1980). "Upper Cretaceous ammonites and inoceramids from the off-shore Alphard Group of South Africa". South African Museum. 82 (7): 293–320.
  • Gebhardt, H. (2001). "Inoceramids, Didymotis and ammonites from the Nkalagu Formation type locakity (late Turonian to Coniacian, southern Nigeria): biostratigraphy and palaeoecologic implications". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte. 2001 (4): 193–212. doi:10.1127/njgpm/2001/2001/193.
  • El Qot, G.M. (2006). "Late Cretaceous macrofossils from Sinai, Egypt". Beringeria. 36: 3–163.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.