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Date: | Mon, 24 Apr 2000 17:54:40 -0600 |
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Bob,
You've got a modern day brachiopod (usually thought of as a fossil). There
were once thousands of species but today there are probably just a couple
hundred species. They are not mollusks, the shell is not calcium and it
will dissolve in Clorox -- so watch out when you clean it. The small
opening by the hinge area is the attachment point for a small stalk that was
attached to the substrate. And last but not least, the animal is oriented
like a cartoon clam. If the shell is on laid on its side, it is actually
either the bottom or the top. One valve is the top and the other the
bottom -- unlike bivalve mollusks which have the two valves on each side of
the animal.
Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico -- lots of fossil brachs here.
> Just finished entering our bivalve collection into our computer. Have a
shell
> that was obtained as Terebratalia transversa (Sowerby, 1846) from off La
> Jolla, California attached to rocks in 120 ft. of water. Color is orange.
> Can't find anything about this genus or species. The genus was not in A
> Classification Of The Living Mollusca, so assume it is bogus. Anyone have
a
> wild idea what it might be. Thanking all in advance.
> Bob
> Panama City, Florida
>
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