This week’s fossil was collected on a memorable trip in 2000 to the United Arab Emirates and Oman with my friend Paul Taylor, an invertebrate paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London. We were there to study hard substrate faunas (sclerobionts) in an Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) unit known as the Qahlah (pronounced “coke-lah”) Formation. We traveled along the border between these two countries in an old Toyota Landrover plotting out the distribution and characteristics of the Qahlah and its fossils. If you want a pdf of the resulting paper (and I’m sure you do), just click here: Wilson & Taylor (2001).
One of the most interesting fossil types common in the Late Jurassic through the Cretaceous is the rudist clam. The image above is one of our Qahlah specimens known as Vaccinites vesiculosus. There are two conical rudists growing together here, with the one on the left still retaining most of its upper valve.
Rudist clams are an example of just how far evolution can go with a basic body plan. They are heterodont clams sharing a common ancestry with the typical modern Mercenaria we so love to eat (and dissect). Starting in the Jurassic, the left valve began to elongate into a cone and the right valve became a cap-like cover. They attached to each other and formed reef-like masses throughout the warm, shallow tropical seas of the Cretaceous. They were so successful that they appear to have competitively excluded most of the coral reefs. Corals had the last gurgly laugh, though, because the end-Cretaceous extinction completely wiped out the rudists, allowing the later rise of modern coral reefs.
A typical heterodont clam is in the upper left of this diagram; the rest are rudist clams. In the lower right is a drawing of the type of rudist photographed above. Diagram from Schumann & Steuber (1997; Kleine Senckenbergreihe 24: 117-122).
When I see our rudist clam specimen I’m reminded not only of its complex evolutionary heritage, but also of our own desert odyssey with grim musket-bearing Omani tribesmen, endless sand dunes stretching west, and delicious banquets of lamb and dates.
We are living in Saudi Arabia and go fossil hunting regularly. We are finding all sorts of things but have no idea what they are. Would you be interested in seeing photos of these?
Sure — I’m always happy to look at photos of fossils. It is a limited technique, of course, but I could give you some ideas. Please send them to my regular email. (I’ll send you a note.)
While searching for the fossil records of Saudi Arabia, I came across this wonderful blogspot of yours. I am presently in Bahrain and while Bird Watching along the Tubli beach I found a large pile of rocks probably brought from Saudi to build an embankment for reclamation of land. The rocks are embedded with fossilized tubeworms and bivalves. I would like to send you the images for your comments. Please provide your email in case you have no trouble helping me with the identification. Thanks in advance.
Hello Rakesh: No problem. I love to look at any fossils. Just make sure the file sizes add up to less than 10 Mb or my server will reject the message. My address is mwilson@wooster.edu
Hi, I found a fossil that a group I’m in is suggesting may be rudists. Do you know where I could send a picture to get more information? Would you be interested in looking at it?
Sure, Megan, you can send me an image. I love helping identify fossils.
I understand that Florida has a thick layer of rudists. Would you know if they are the same type found in Saudi Arabia? I’m new at fossil hunting, but I think I’ve found a new love…
Hello Daniel: There are indeed rudist clam fossils in Florida similar to those in the Middle East. Have fun collecting!