MASSIVE FOSSIL SEASHELLS PLATE
Gigantopecten restitutensis
Burdigalian, Miocene (23,5-20 Ma)
Lacoste, France
H. 31 ½ in - L. 37 ½ in
The quarries of the Lacoste plateau (Apt basin, Vaucluse), now part of the Parc naturel régional du Luberon, have provided stone for carving since Roman times, but hidden in the depths of the rock were testimonies of the time when this region was entirely covered by the sea.
The large size and thickness of the shells indicate that Gigantopecten lived in optimal conditions, in numerous groups, important for their breeding strategy. The bioclastic limestone was indeed deposited under a tropical climate, in very dynamic seas with clear, well oxygenated waters rich in calcium carbonate, very favorable to the growth and proliferation of these bivalves with high metabolic requirements.
These limestone beds with well-preserved fossil accumulations could be the result of a succession of earthquakes and tidal waves linked to the uplift of the Luberon massif. The hypothesis is that the sudden and massive mortality, as witnessed by the exceptional number of organisms that sank into the sandy or muddy substratum, would be due to the powerful storms that swept their shallow habitats; the gigantic waves would have decimated the populations by burying them.
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