Actinoceramus

Actinoceramus
Temporal range: Albian-Cenomanian, 109–89.3 Ma
Fossil Inoceramus (Actinoceramus) sulcatus from Albian age of England at Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée, Paris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Pteriida
Family: †Inoceramidae
Genus: †Actinoceramus
Meek, 1864

Actinoceramus is an extinct genus of fossil saltwater clams, marine pteriomorphian bivalve molluscs. These bivalves were facultatively mobile infaunal suspension feeders.

Actinoceramus sulcatus marks the oldest appearance of well-developed radial folds, though the functional significance is still under debate. The wide range of localities and abundance of fossils coupled with an ease of identification leads scientists to consider this genus the most "successful" marine bivalve of the Late Cretaceous.[1]

Species

Species within Actinoceramus:

  • Inoceramus (Actinoceramus) concentricus Parkinson 1819
  • Inoceramus (Actinoceramus) salomoni d'Orbigny 1850
  • Inoceramus (Actinoceramus) subsulcatus Wiltshire 1869
  • Inoceramus (Actinoceramus) sulcatus Parkinson 1819

Distribution

Fossils of species of this genus have been found in the Cretaceous of Antarctica, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia (Hiló Formation, Tolima), Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.[2]

References

  1. ^ Crampton, James S.; Gale, Andy S. (2009). "Taxonomy and Biostratigraphy of the Late Albian Actinoceramus sulcatus Lineage (Early Cretaceous Bivalvia, Inoceramidae)". Journal of Paleontology. 83 (1): 89–109. Bibcode:2009JPal...83...89C. doi:10.1666/08-037R.1. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 29739069.
  2. ^ Actinoceramus at Fossilworks.org


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