Gigantopecten is a genus of fossil scallops, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Pectinidae, the scallops.[2]
| Gigantopecten Temporal range: OligocenetoQuaternary | |
|---|---|
| |
| Gigantopecten latissimus from France. Miocene (abt. 20 Ma) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Pectinida |
| Family: | Pectinidae |
| Genus: | †Gigantopecten Rovereto, 1899 |
| Synonyms | |
| |
These facultatively mobile low-level epifaunal suspension feeders lived from the Oligocene to the Quaternary period (from 33.9 to 0.781 Ma).[3]
Species within the genus Gigantopecten include:[3][4]
Species within this genus have a very large shells, reaching a height of about 134 millimetres (5.3 in) and a length of about 167 millimetres (6.6 in). The shell is thick and biconvex. The left valve is slightly more convex than the right one. The radial ribs are wide, but very shallow. Both auricles are the same size and shape.[6]
Fossils of species within this genus have been found in the sediments of the United States, Italy, Algeria, Austria, Cuba, France, Haiti, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Iran.[3]
 | This bivalve-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |