Bivalves are very common fossils, and this one is immediately recognisable as a scallop or Pecten. The two valves have been separated, possibly due to the action of scavengers after burial. The right valve, seen as an impression on the left, shows the straight hinge line and typical pectinid ears, with the notch where the attaching byssus came out. The left valve, on the right, is more strongly convex to make space for the soft body inside. This specimen (height 60 mm) lived in the shallow seas of N.E. Yorkshire 170 million years ago. Similar fossils are encountered during several Royal Holloway field courses including Second Year mapping training in Spain.


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