Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
Gryphaea
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Gryphaea
Quizzes
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.
Animal Factoids
Related Questions
Read Next
Artist interpretation of space asteroids impacting earth and moon. Meteoroids, meteor impact, end of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Doomsday Predictions, comet
Major Mass Extinctions
Three parasaurolophus stand on a rock beach. Pterasaurs fly over head and a small mammal watches the dinosaurs as they meander along the water's edge.
What Happened to the Dinosaurs?
Japanese spider crab
10 Animals With Evolutionary Traits Plucked Straight Out of a Nightmare
Malayan Leaf Frog - Megophrys nasuta
9 Animals That Look Like Leaves
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) standing on rock, side view, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
The Fastest Animals on Earth
Discover
The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (Alice in Wonderland)
11 Banned Books Through Time
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.
Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?
Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls
Pro and Con: School Uniforms
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
Woman tied to a ducking stool, a method of punishment by means of humiliation, beating, or death. (cucking stool)
8 Unusual Punishments Inflicted on Women Throughout History
Santa Claus flying in his sleigh, christmas, reindeer
Was Santa Claus a Real Person?
Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics
10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time
Gryphaea
Gryphaea

Gryphaea

fossil mollusk genus
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/animal/Gryphaea
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History

Gryphaea, extinct molluskan genus found as fossils in rocks from the Jurassic Period to the Eocene Epoch (between 199.6 million and 33.9 million years ago). Related to the oysters, Gryphaea is characterized by its distinctively convoluted shape. The left valve, or shell, was much larger and more convoluted than the flattish right valve. Fine markings extended across the shell at right angles to the direction of growth. In some mature specimens, the coiling of the shell became so pronounced that it is unlikely that the shell could be opened at all, at which point the animal must have died.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Richard Pallardy.