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Pearl Oyster with Bud
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By I_gotta_rock
Taxonomy
Pearl Oyster
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Ostreida
Family: Pteriidae
Genus: Pterida
Species: Pterida sp.
Author Citation Scopoli, 1777
Geological Time Scale
Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Mesozoic
Period: Cretaceous
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Late
Stratigraphy
Monmouth Group
Mt. Laurel Formation
Provenance
Collector: Heather Siple
Date Collected: 07/12/2021
Acquired by: Field Collection
Dimensions
Length: 1.8 cm
Width: 1.5 cm
Height: 0.4 cm
Location
Reedy Point (North Side)
New Castle
Delaware
United States
Comments
This is a very rare find at this site. Although two members of the genus have been reported along the C and D Canal, this is the only one I've found at Reedy Point in 17 years of collecting there!
PLEASE NOTE: It is possible that this was carried there during frequent human activity - perhaps in a tire tread from a vehicle that came from another site along the canal.
This specimen has a 4mm pearl bud near the hinge on the interior side of the valve.
Because there are more than one species of Pteria at the canal and this shell is heavily worn, I am refraining from narrowing it down to a species. Of the two reported, only one really resembles it. P. petrosa (Conrad) has strong, concentric growth rings, but no costae. P. laripes (Morton) has strong costae and fine growth lines, so is probably a match.
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