>I had heard the term "shagreen" in reference to the
>surface sculpturing of Pectinidae, for example, "dianae."
>And under a lens, this is a very regular, geometric
>pattern of diagonally crossing lines.  Where have I gone wrong, or have
>I?
>
>Thanks,
>Linda

That's not shagreen sculpture. I'm not sure there IS a specific term for the
interrib microsculpture of Chlamydinae. Dr Bivalve?
--
Andrew Grebneff

+++

Well, after yesterday's explanation of why Conch-L is more vibrant than
Mollusca, I hesitate to write this, but some memories are hard to shake and
my reputation has already been scuttled in the Spikes of Liberty thread.

My very first paleontological paper, for Bill Evitt's class in Invertebrate
Paleontology, was on fossil accumulations and evolution of kelp scallops
(Leptopecten) in the Tertiary of California. The kelp scallops are
particularly interesting because they live attached to kelp, sometimes in
great numbers, and there are thin shell beds that consist of unbroken valves
of single species of kelp scallops.

I read a lot about the scallops, which were mostly given other generic names
on the labels, and found that some non-Leptopectens are characterized partly
by their "Camptonectes striation" (divaricate striation, according to the
Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, p. N351). The Treatise also says that
the "Chlamys group", which does include Leptopecten, has "sculpture of
radial elements fine to coarse, commonly crossed by concentric imbricating
lamellae."  And so I leave you with the song that I composed while writing
this term paper. Sing it to the tune of "Camptown Races":

Camptonectes striation,
Pecten! Pecten!
Camptonectes striation,
Pectinidae.

Gonna read all night,
Gonna write all day,
I'll bet my money on a Leptopect-
-En; maybe I'll get an A.

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama