AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR
CANADIAN DOLLAR
EURO
POUND STERLING
US DOLLAR
Product Description
ITEM #
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BIV-018
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ID
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oyster (undetermined species)
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FOUND
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Western Germany
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AGE
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OLIGOCENE: 35 million years ago
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SIZE
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12" x 9.5" wide
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CONDITION
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NO REPAIR OR FABRICATION
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NOTE
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INTRIGUING, UNCOMMON SPECIMEN OF
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Actual Item - One Only
Comes with a certificate of authenticity / information sheet |
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The region in western Germany where this interesting fossil comes from used to be submerged 35 million years ago by an Oligocene prehistoric sea. This is a highly aesthetic partial prehistoric oyster bed fossil. It is made up of numerous large oyster shells with one complete oyster still intact. The texture and layering of the shells makes for an intriguing display fossil. Holes running through the fossil are from another type of predatory bivalve that would bore into the oyster beds and kill the oysters. Once prevalent, the quarry where these shells were collected has since closed and it is not possible to collect any more. Wonderfully preserved in full three dimensional form and visible from all sides. Beautifully fossilized with intact luster and some nacre in the original shell. Perfect for any sea life exhibit from the past.
Bivalves, which include clams and mussels, are made up of two half shells. The valves are attached by a hinge ligament and articulate open and close by two muscles attached on the inside of the shells. Bivalves are filter-feeders and pump water inside their bodies to strain out phytoplankton and other small organisms for food. Bivalves generally have limited locomotion and possess a foot but mainly live attached to some type of substrate or burrow in the underwater sand. Bivalves move along the bottom by means of jumping. The foot is extended then contracted violently, moving backwards in the process acting like a spring always kicking the animal slightly forward.
