Aquatic Molluscs from Central New Jersey

[evpink]

Yesterday I stumbled across Poricy Park Fossil Beds, which led me here after digging, but I was fortunate to find some of my own first fossils, and was even gifted four large ones from a passerby who stopped to make sure we got something good out of the experience. All of the said fossils are aquatic molluscs (or maybe sponges? But they definitely look like bivalves). Here are the four gifts:

 

Here is a shell fused with a rock, although quite well:

 

Some sort of clam piece?

 

Another of the same/similar build

 

And something very similar to the four fossils we were gifted, albeit much smaller, but we found ourselves!

 

Also, is using 3rd party photo uploaders, such as flickr, allowed? I feel that may be easier for me to upload everything. Wasn't sure so didn't want to risk it :).

 

Thank you for any help you give me!! It is greatly appreciated by the newbie :3

 

[evpink]

Hmm, for some reason the image is duplicated at the end. I attempted to edit this to delete it but it didn't work. Sorry about that, guys.

[ClearLake]

Welcome!  Looks like you found some nice Cretaceous aged bivalves. Here is a snippet from this website: https://www.middletownnj.org/DocumentCenter/View/697/Fossils-of-Poricy-Brook?bidId=

 

Bivalves, animals with two shells, are the most noticeable and abundant fossils. The common large, heavy, smooth shells are Pyncnodonte (Gryphea) convexa. Another large shell is Exogyra costata. In both these species of oysters, one shell is cup shaped and the other is flat. The delicately ribbed shell of a Spondylus (Dianchora) echinata may sometimes be found attached to the inside of one of the large shells. The oyster Agerostrea mesenterica is a narrow, crescent-shaped shell with sharp, tooth-like ripples. It is hinged at one narrow end. The fragile scallops (Pecten) and Lima pelagica are rarely found, and then usually only as impressions in the marl or as shell fragments.
 

 

Your first ones look like the Pyncnodonte, the zig zag one is the Agerostrea. Some of the others may be too fragmentary to ID. I’m sure someone that has visited that site will be along and confirm or supply better ID’s. 

[Rockwood]

6 hours ago, evpink said:

Here is a shell fused with a rock, although quite well:

I think the rock is a steinkern of the shell. The shell has been lost (dissolved or eroded) and what remains is a cast of one of the bore holes that had been in it. A common producer of these borings is the sponge Cliona.

[JohnJ]

14 hours ago, evpink said:

Also, is using 3rd party photo uploaders, such as flickr, allowed? I feel that may be easier for me to upload everything. Wasn't sure so didn't want to risk it :).

 

14 hours ago, evpink said:

Hmm, for some reason the image is duplicated at the end. I attempted to edit this to delete it but it didn't work. Sorry about that, guys.

 

Welcome.

 

It looks like the first photo was uploaded and a linked image.  Since third party photo sites are inevitably unreliable, we prefer all images be uploaded to the Forum.  I removed the link and the extra image.