How This Prehistoric Clam Tracked the Moon

[Judi Lynn]

The bivalve shows that our days have gotten longer and it explains why.



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BY DAISY HERNANDEZ
MAR 14, 2020

A bivalve fossil has surprised researchers by providing a look at daily life 70 million years ago.

Torreites sanchezi, the prehistoric bivalve, formed sedimentary bands along its shell—similar to the rings we use to age trees. Using advanced analysis methods and technology, researchers were able to measure factor such as weather and water temperature.

The fossil also reveals changes in the relationship between the Earth and the moon.

Fossils are incredible gateways to the past, showing us what life was like many millions of years ago. One such find is Torreites sanchezi, a bivalve shell belonging to a group called ‘rudists,’ that’s 70 million years old and has been acting as a clock of sorts during the years it spent buried within the earth.

These ancient bivalves were similar to modern clams in that their shells had an impressive growth rate—an entire layer per day. The laminae—growth bands which are similar to tree rings—grew in accordance with the weather giving researchers an unprecedented look at what a day looked like several thousand millennia ago.

But it wasn’t just weather; T. sanchezi also captured snapshots of water temperature and chemical makeup, in essence, freezing several moments in time throughout the day. Niels de Winter, a geochemist and professor at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), told Science Alert that the bivalve offers a unique look at the past.

More:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a31364093/prehistoric-clam-clock/

[3Hotdogs]

1. In other words, Earth was spinning faster in earlier times.