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Identify a specimen... Devil's Toenail Bivalvia... Gryphaea

"Devil's Toenails" are extremely common in Jurassic rocks, often found in the gardens of young fossil collectors, by the road or among pebbles on the beach. The nickname comes from the curved, hooked shape of the shell and the grey, shiny appearance that the fossils often have.
 

Gryphaea are in fact extinct bivalve oysters which thrived between the Triassic and the Jurassic periods, living with the larger shell embedded in soft mud, which explains their abundance as fossils. Sitting inside the main valve is a smaller one, oval in shape, which is less commonly preserved. The best specimens show wrinkly growth lines across the surface, but these are often worn smooth.


See also: bivalves

 

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