Inoceramus sp.

Inoceramus
Specimen #333
Taxon: Inoceramus sp.
Locality: Boulder County, CO
Age: Cretaceous Period, Upper Campanian Stage
Rock unit: Didymoceras stevensoni zone of Pierre Shale
Collector: N. Itano

Inoceramus is a genus of bivalve belonging to a family which became extinct near the end of the Cretaceous Period. Inasmuch as the Inoceramids of the Pierre Shale have not been studied recently, I am not attempting to assign them to species. (Horizontal extent 8 cm.)

Some Inoceramids grew to enormous sizes. A picture of one of them, said to be the largest bivalve in the world is on display at the website of the Geological Museum of the University of Copenhagen. Another large Inoceramid can be seen at the website of the Emporia State University Geology Museum in Emporia, Kansas.


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Last modified: May 27, 2001. Send comments to webmaster@itano.net