Glycymeris sp. - Fossil from Dali - Cyprus

 Family Glycymerididae

Glycymeris, common name the bittersweet clams, is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Glycymerididae

Fossil records

These clams are very common as fossils, from the Cretaceous period in the Valanginian age (between 140.2 ± 3.0 mya and 136.4 ± 2.0 mya). Fossil shells of these molluscs can be found all over the world. Genus Glycymeris includes about 100 extinct species.

Description

The shells are generally biconvex, with equal valves round in outline, and slightly longer than wide. Their size varies from medium to large. The external ligament lacks transverse striations. These clams are a facultatively mobile infaunal suspension feeders.

Photos Nicosia  by George Konstantinou

(Echinoderms) Sea urchin - Cidaris sp. (pencil sea urchins) - Fossils from Nicosia, Cyprus

 Family:Cidaridae

Cidaris is a genus of pencil sea urchins.

Photos by George Konstantinou

Coral sp. - Fossil from miocene Cyprus (Pafos) - Cyprus

 Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.

Photos by George Konstantinou

(Echinoderms) Sea urchin 9mm. and 12mm - Fossil from Nicosia, Cyprus

Echinoid fossils are the fossilised remains of sea urchins, spiny marine invertebrates that live on the seabed. Humans have been interested in these fossils for millennia, have considered them lucky, have imbued them with magical powers and linked them to their deities.

Echinoid fossils

The main feature of echinoid fossils are the set of five ambulacra on the test radiating out from a central point, forming a distinctive five-petalled pattern. The earliest echinoid fossils date from the late Ordovician period, some 450 Mya. The group has a rich fossil record, their hard tests made of calcite plates and their spines being found in rocks from every period since then. Echinoids from the Paleozoic era had thin tests and their fossils are often incomplete, consisting of groups of plates or isolated spines. Later echinoids had more robust tests and fossilised well, usually with the spines detached from the test. Fossils of echinoids are common in rocks from the Jurassic and Cretaceous age, especially from late Cretaceous chalk. In the White Cliffs of Dover in southern England, the echinoid fossils that are present can be used for dating the various chalk strata in which they occur. This is because they are relatively abundant and well-preserved compared to other fossilised animals, and can be differentiated by type between different ages. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Nicosia  by George Konstantinou

Thais sp. - Rock shells - Family Muricidae - Fossil from Nicosia, Cyprus

Thais, sometimes known by the common names dog winkles or rock shells, is a genus of medium to large predatory sea snails with an operculum, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae

Photos Nicosia  by George Konstantinou

Horn corals fossils from Nicosia, Cyprus

The rugosa, also called the tetracorallia or horn coral, are an extinct order of solitary and colonial corals that were abundant in Middle Ordovician to Late Permian seas

Photos Nicosia  by George Konstantinou

Fish Otoliths, or “earstones” - Fossils from Cyprus

 An otolith (Greek: ὠτο-, ōto- ear + λῐ́θος, líthos, a stone), also called statoconium or otoconium or statolith, is a calcium carbonate structure in the saccule or utricle of the inner ear, specifically in the vestibular system of vertebrates. The saccule and utricle, in turn, together make the otolith organs. These organs are what allows an organism, including humans, to perceive linear acceleration, both horizontally and vertically (gravity). They have been identified in both extinct and extant vertebrates.

Counting the annual growth rings on the otoliths is a common technique in estimating the age of fish

Fish otoliths accrete layers of calcium carbonate and gelatinous matrix throughout their lives. The accretion rate varies with growth of the fish – often less growth in winter and more in summer – which results in the appearance of rings that resemble tree rings. By counting the rings, it is possible to determine the age of the fish in years. Typically the sagitta is used, as it is largest,[16] but sometimes lapilli are used if they have a more convenient shape. The asteriscus, which is smallest of the three, is rarely used in age and growth studies. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos 

by George Konstantinou

Diodora sp. - Fossils from Cyprus

 Family Fissurellidae.

Diodora is a genus of small to medium-sized keyhole limpet in the family Fissurellidae.

Life habits

Like all other fissurellids, Diodora species are herbivores, and use the radula to scrape algae from rocks. An exception is D. apertura, which grazes on sponges such as Hymeniacidon.

Water for respiration and excretion is drawn in under the edge of the shell and exits through the "keyhole" at or near the apex.

Photos 

by George Konstantinou

Diodora italica From Geri 

Petra tou Romiou or Aphrodite's Rock - Πέτρα του Ρωμιού ή Βράχος της Αφροδίτης - Cyprus

 Petra tou Romiou ("Rock of the "Roman") (that is East Roman or Byzantine as Byzantines referred to themselves as either Greeks or Romans until the 1920s , also known as Aphrodite's Rock, is a sea stack in Paphos, Cyprus. It is located off the shore along the main road from Paphos to Limassol. The combination of the beauty of the area and its status in mythology as the birthplace of Aphrodite makes it a popular tourist location.

The sea in this region is generally rough, persuading tourists not to swim there. It is not permitted to climb the rock. A restaurant, a tourist pavilion and the Aphrodite Hills resort are nearby.

According to one legend, this rock is the site of the birth of the goddess Aphrodite, perhaps owing to the foaming waters around the rock fragments, and for this reason it is known as Aphrodite's Rock. Gaia (Mother Earth) asked one of her sons, Cronus, to mutilate his father, Uranus (Sky). Cronus cut off Uranus' testicles and threw them into the sea.

Similarly, the local version indicates that Aphrodite’s Rock is a part of the lower body of Uranus. This legend says that Cronus ambushed his father and cut him below the waist with a scythe. Uranus, as he tried to escape flying, lost parts of his truncated body and testicles into the sea. A white foam appeared from which a maiden arose, the waves first taking her to Kythera and then bringing her to Cyprus. The maiden, named Aphrodite, went to the assembly of gods from Cyprus. The Romans widely referred to her as Venus. Aphrodite attracted a large cult following in Paphos, which was eventually crushed by the Romans. This is evident from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Old Paphos, Kouklia. A local myth is that any person who swims around the Aphrodite Rock will be blessed with eternal beauty.

Another legend associates the name Achni with the nearby beach, and attributes this to it being a site where the Achaeans came ashore on their return from Troy.

The present name Petra tou Romiou ("Rock of the Greek") associates the place with the exploits of the hero Basil as told in the Digenes Akritas. Basil was half-Byzantine (East Roman or Romios) and half-Arabic, hence the name Digenes (two-blood). Legend tells that the Christian Basil hurled a huge rock from the Troodos Mountains to keep off the invading Saracens. A nearby rock is similarly known as the Saracen Rock.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos 4/5/2010 

by George Konstantinou