Gigantostrea
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| Gigantostrea Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fossil shell of Gigantostrea gigantica from Oligocene | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Ostreida |
| Family: | Gryphaeidae |
| Genus: | †Gigantostrea Sacco, 1897 |
Gigantostrea is an extinct genus of marine bivalve mollusks belonging to the family Gryphaeidae.[1]
This genus is known in the fossil record from the Eocene to the Miocene (age range: from 48.6 to 15.97 million years ago).[2] These fossils have been found in Europe and United States.[2][3]
Shells of Gigantostrea gigantica can reach a size of about 100 millimetres (3.9 in).[4] These fossil shells are brittle, inequivalve, with the lower valve convex and the upper valve flat or slightly concave. The lower valve was cemented to the substrate.
