Fossils of Virginia

     Click the physiographic map to the right for fossils in other parts of Virginia

Virginia geologic cross-section Piedmont Coastal Plain Appalachian Plateau Valley and Ridge Blue Ridge Coastal Plain
Untitled Document Untitled Document Chama congregata
'Corrugate jewelbox'
Yorktown Formation
4.5 to 3 million years ago

Untitled Document This unique bivalve has asymmetrical valves: an attached bowl-shaped lower valve, and a flat, round upper valve that acts as a lid that opens for feeding. This species formed large reefs, or biostromes, during Upper Yorktown time that can be as large as 14 feet thick. This species lives today in the Western Atlantic from the southeastern U.S. to Brazil.
M. J. O'Donnell

Untitled Document

| © 2006 W&M Department of Geology