Crassostrea ingens explained

Crassostrea ingens[1] is a species of fossil oyster, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Ostreidae, the oyster. This species lived during the Pliocene. Fossils have been found in New Zealand shallow-water limestone and shellbeds. Locations include the Wairarapa, Whanganui basin, Gisborne district, North Canterbury, and Hawke's Bay (especially in the Te Aute limestone).

Description

Crassostrea ingens is a giant fossil oyster. It has a shell reaching a height of to over . This shell is biconvex. The left valve is thick and deep, with inflation of to over ; interior cavity depth to over . The right valve is almost flat, to thick. Most specimens curve slightly to the left. The adductor scar area in most Pliocene specimens retains a purplish red colour. Beu and Raine (2009) note that: "This is the sole giant oyster in New Zealand Late Miocene–Pliocene rocks, and there has never been any confusion over the identity of C. ingens."[2]

Notes and References

  1. K.A. Zittel (1864) ii. Fossile Mollusken und Echinodermen aus Neu-Seeland. Nebst Beiträgen von den Herren Bergrath Franz Ritter V. Hauer und Professor Eduard Suess. in: Hochstetter F von, Hörnes M, Ritter von Hauer F ed. Paläontologie von Neu-Seeland. Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Fossilien Flora und Fauna der Provinzen Auckland und Nelson. Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde, Geologischer Theil 1(2): 15–68.
  2. A.G. BEU and J.I. RAINE (2009) REVISED DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW ZEALAND CENOZOIC MOLLUSCA FROM BEU AND MAXWELL (1990) GNS Science miscellaneous series no. 27.