Description
Large Fossilised Rastellum 7.5cm
This Large Fossilised Rastellum has been polished to reveal a grey, cream and beige shell. This strange ribbed shell is a unique tubular shape and is one of the more unusual Bivalves. It dates from the Cretaceous period and is in the region of 120 million years old. The Rastellum carinatum lived in warm tropical seas and would attach itself to rocks or corals. Much like Oysters they were stationary epifaunal suspension feeders. This is a large and unusual specimen at 7.5cm, this would make an interesting addition to any fossil collection.
Bivalves are aquatic molluscs with paired shells (valves) that enclose a soft body. The majority feed by filtering waterborne food particles, although some species feed directly from the sediment. These creatures have been existing for approximately 500 million years. The first bivalves were living in our seas and lakes some 300 years before the first dinosaurs. Although numerous species of bivalve are now extinct, some have survived and are still found today. Examples living in our seas lakes and rivers now include cockles, mussels and also oysters.
Back To Other Fossils Back To Fossils
