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Tf0110 - Lithophaga inclusa
Age
Jurassic
Location
Coral Rag, Upware
Species
Lithophaga inclusa
Stratigraphic Range
Jurassic
Lithophaga: Triassic to recent
Lithophaga: Triassic to recent
Taxonomy
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Mytilida
Family: Mytilidae
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Mytilida
Family: Mytilidae
Distinctive Features
Dorsoventral symmetry
Two valves
Growth lines
Umbo
Two valves
Growth lines
Umbo
Preservation
Set 1:
Original shell material
Set 2:
Mould of boring in which the shell lived (can see the structure of the Coral Rag)
Original shell material
Set 2:
Mould of boring in which the shell lived (can see the structure of the Coral Rag)
Advanced notes
Lithophaga bore into hard substrates, and often preserve as the specimen from Set 2 has, as moulds of the borings they make. They lived as suspension feeders.
Lithophaga bore into rocks by secreting a weak acid. This dissolves calcareous substances, sometimes including other bivalve shells, into which the animal bores.