File #2721: "TftT Oyster Brochure.pdf"
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The Mississippi
Embayment
Scan the QR code to learn
more or visit “Tales from
the Table” at
https://msstateexhibits.libraryhost.com/exhibits/show/tftt
TALES
FROM THE TABLE!
SPOTLIGHT SPECIMEN
EXOGYRA OYSTER
The Mississippi
Embayment
By Scott D. Sampson, Mark A. Loewen, Andrew A. Farke, Eric M. Roberts, Catherine A. Forster, Joshua A. Smith, Alan L. Titus
- http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0012292, CC BY 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88839117
During the Cretaceous Period, sea level was
much higher than it is today. North America
was bisected by an inland sea called the
Western Interior Seaway. On the southeastern
side of the Western Interior Seaway was the
Mississippi Embayment, a shallow gulf that
covered Mississippi, Alabama, and
southwestern Tennessee.
Meet Exogyra!
Late Cretaceous
Mississippi: An Oyster’s
Paradise
Exogyra oysters were reef builders. Like
corals, they lived a “sessile” lifestyle. “Sessile”
is the scientific word for a life spent
encrusted (attached) to a hard surface and
fixed in place. Over time, generations of
Exogyra would encrust on top of the shells of
older Exogyra. Eventually, this built a reef.
By Wilson44691 - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=36831420
Marine oyster
Lived during the Cretaceous Period
(145-66 million years ago)
Exogyra species have been found in
over 50 countries
Encrusting animal--spent its life
attached to a hard surface
One of the most common fossils in
Mississippi Cretaceous rocks
What lived in Mississippi’s
Cretaceous oyster reefs?
Mosasaurs
Mosasaurs are the extinct aquatic relatives of
today’s monitor lizards. Some species of
mosasaur were apex predators, but some
crushed and ate shells.
Squalicorax
Cretaceous Mississippi was home to many
types of shark, but Squalicorax was one of the
most common. This shark was medium sized (610 feet or 2-3 meters long) and was likely a
scavenger.
By Creator:Dmitry Bogdanov - dmitrchel@mail.ru, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=4923442
Ammonites
Ammonites were shelled cephalopods--the same
family that includes modern-day squid and
octopus. Ammonites are known for their beautiful
shells with complex patterns. Ammonites went
extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, and today
the nautilus (a close relative of ammonites) is the
only shelled cephalopod still alive.
By Creator: Dmitry Bogdanov - dmitrchel@mail.ru, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=11151274
By Wilson44691 - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=10766044
Embayment
Scan the QR code to learn
more or visit “Tales from
the Table” at
https://msstateexhibits.libraryhost.com/exhibits/show/tftt
TALES
FROM THE TABLE!
SPOTLIGHT SPECIMEN
EXOGYRA OYSTER
The Mississippi
Embayment
By Scott D. Sampson, Mark A. Loewen, Andrew A. Farke, Eric M. Roberts, Catherine A. Forster, Joshua A. Smith, Alan L. Titus
- http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0012292, CC BY 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88839117
During the Cretaceous Period, sea level was
much higher than it is today. North America
was bisected by an inland sea called the
Western Interior Seaway. On the southeastern
side of the Western Interior Seaway was the
Mississippi Embayment, a shallow gulf that
covered Mississippi, Alabama, and
southwestern Tennessee.
Meet Exogyra!
Late Cretaceous
Mississippi: An Oyster’s
Paradise
Exogyra oysters were reef builders. Like
corals, they lived a “sessile” lifestyle. “Sessile”
is the scientific word for a life spent
encrusted (attached) to a hard surface and
fixed in place. Over time, generations of
Exogyra would encrust on top of the shells of
older Exogyra. Eventually, this built a reef.
By Wilson44691 - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=36831420
Marine oyster
Lived during the Cretaceous Period
(145-66 million years ago)
Exogyra species have been found in
over 50 countries
Encrusting animal--spent its life
attached to a hard surface
One of the most common fossils in
Mississippi Cretaceous rocks
What lived in Mississippi’s
Cretaceous oyster reefs?
Mosasaurs
Mosasaurs are the extinct aquatic relatives of
today’s monitor lizards. Some species of
mosasaur were apex predators, but some
crushed and ate shells.
Squalicorax
Cretaceous Mississippi was home to many
types of shark, but Squalicorax was one of the
most common. This shark was medium sized (610 feet or 2-3 meters long) and was likely a
scavenger.
By Creator:Dmitry Bogdanov - dmitrchel@mail.ru, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=4923442
Ammonites
Ammonites were shelled cephalopods--the same
family that includes modern-day squid and
octopus. Ammonites are known for their beautiful
shells with complex patterns. Ammonites went
extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, and today
the nautilus (a close relative of ammonites) is the
only shelled cephalopod still alive.
By Creator: Dmitry Bogdanov - dmitrchel@mail.ru, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=11151274
By Wilson44691 - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=10766044