''Cladoceramus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus of fossil

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

pteriomorphian

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

s that superficially resembled the related winged pearly oysters of the

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

genus '' Pteria''. They lived in the

Santonian The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 86.3 ± 0.7 mya (million years ago) and 83.6 ± 0.7 mya. The ...

stage of the Late Cretaceous.

Description

Adult shells of ''Cladoceramus'' are small to very large size (more than 1 m in length). Many species with fine, discrete, juvenile ornamentation on umbo, consisting of closely and evenly to subevenly spaced raised concentric growth lines without rugae. Posterior auricle well-defined, triangular, separated from disc by auricular sulcus; a post-umbonal sulcus occurs in some species, as do very small anterior auricles ("ears").Lower Turonian Euramerican Inoceramidae: A morphologic, taxonomic, and biostratigraphic overview
A report from the first Workshop on Early Turonian Inoceramids (Oct. 5-8, 1992) in Hamburg, Germany; organized by Heinz Hilbrecht and Peter J. Harries

Biostratigraphic significance

The first appearance of the species ''

Cladoceramus undulatoplicatus ''Cladoceramus'' is an extinct genus of fossil Marine (ocean), marine pteriomorphian bivalves that superficially resembled the related winged pearly oysters of the Extant taxon, extant genus ''Pteria (bivalve), Pteria''. They lived in the Santoni ...

'' marks the beginning of the

stage.

Distribution

Fossils of the genus have been found in:''Cladoceramus''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...

.org * Matulla Formation, Egypt ;United States *

Forbes Shale The Forbes Shale is a geologic formation in the Sacramento Valley of northern California, United States. It is found in the Sutter Buttes area of Sutter County, California. It preserves fossils dating back to the Coniacian stage of the Late Creta ...

, California * Smoky Hill Shale, Niobrara Formation, Colorado and New Mexico * Austin Chalk, Texas * Mancos Shale, Wyoming

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q105063205 Inoceramidae Prehistoric bivalve genera Index fossils Fossils of Egypt Cretaceous California Paleontology in California Cretaceous Colorado Paleontology in Colorado Cretaceous geology of New Mexico Paleontology in New Mexico Cretaceous Texas Paleontology in Texas Paleontology in Wyoming Fossils of the United States Fossil taxa described in 1961