Chesapeake Shell With Unknown Formation From The Cne

[JUAN EMMANUEL]

I bought this shell fossil from a rock shop at the CNE because today they had free entrance for youths. It doesnt come lablled from what formation it originated from, but it said the locality was Chesapeake Bay and from the label Im assuming this is Pleistocene? I find this an interesting fossil to sit beside my Ordovician clams.

Edited September 2, 2015 by JUAN EMMANUEL

[Boesse]

This is almost certainly a species of Chesapecten. See this paper by Lauck Ward for more details:http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0861/report.pdf.

[Guguita2104]

I agree with Boesse...It seems Chesapectan Jeffersonius, that is an Early Pliocenic (not Pleistocene) stratigraphic fossil.

[MikeR]

It does appear to be Chesapecten jeffersonius however it is from Lower Pliocene Zone 1 Yorktown Formation which is not exposed on the Chesapeake. It is more than likely from either the York or Potomac Rivers in Virginia.

[Boesse]

It actually might have too many ribs to be C. jeffersonius - check that publication, there's a bunch of different species that may be a better species level ID.

[JUAN EMMANUEL]

It actually might have too many ribs to be C. jeffersonius - check that publication, there's a bunch of different species that may be a better species level ID.

I counted the ribs and there's 11.

[Guguita2104]

Boesse, the number of the ribs is right (they have about 9-12).

Check this links:

http://www.fossilshack.com/shells.html- here you can see images of Chesapectens Jeffersonius;

http://web.wm.edu/geology/virginia/vafossils/coastal_plain/cjeffersonius/index.php