These oysters lived on the sea bed in shallow waters, possibly in large colonies. The complete fossils consist of two articulated valves: a larger gnarly-shaped shell (the "toenail") and a smaller, flattened shell, the "lid". The soft parts of the animal occupied the cavity between the two shells, just like modern oysters. The shells also feature prominent growth bands. The larger, curved shell sat within the mud on the sea floor. These shells are sometimes found in fossil plates along with Turritella, clams, and sometimes sharks' teeth and fossilized fish scales. Its distribution is common in areas of Europe.
A classic location to find these fossils is Redcar, on the northeast coast of England. There used to be a common folk belief that carrying one of these fossils could prevent rheumatism.
The name "devil's toenail" is also used for some fossil species of the genus Exogyra, which is in the same family (Gryphaeidae) as Gryphaea.
gryphaea, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 2018, l. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Gryphaea news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message Gryphaea one of the genera known as devil s toenails is a genus of extinct oysters marine bivalve mollusks in the family Gryphaeidae GryphaeaTemporal range 199 600 33 900 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Sinemurian Eocene Gryphaea arcuata Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Mollusca Class Bivalvia Order Ostreida Family Gryphaeidae Genus GryphaeaLamarck 1801 These fossils range from the Triassic period to the middle Paleogene period citation needed but are mostly restricted to the Triassic and Jurassic They are particularly common in many parts of Britain These oysters lived on the sea bed in shallow waters possibly in large colonies The complete fossils consist of two articulated valves a larger gnarly shaped shell the toenail and a smaller flattened shell the lid The soft parts of the animal occupied the cavity between the two shells just like modern oysters The shells also feature prominent growth bands The larger curved shell sat within the mud on the sea floor These shells are sometimes found in fossil plates along with Turritella clams and sometimes sharks teeth and fossilized fish scales Its distribution is common in areas of Europe A classic location to find these fossils is Redcar on the northeast coast of England There used to be a common folk belief that carrying one of these fossils could prevent rheumatism The name devil s toenail is also used for some fossil species of the genus Exogyra which is in the same family Gryphaeidae as Gryphaea Two genera have been removed from this genus Pycnodonte and Texigryphaea Selected species editGryphaea arcuata Gryphaea dilatataReferences editExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gryphaea The Bedford Museum Gryphaea Fossil Folklore Devil s Toenails Natural History Museum London nbsp This article about a prehistoric bivalve is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gryphaea amp oldid 1213700402, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
