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Use of Hippuritids for Interpreting Carbonate Platform Environments

  • Conference paper
North African Cretaceous Carbonate Platform Systems

Part of the book series: NATO Science Series ((NAIV,volume 28))

Abstract

Hippuritid rudists have a highly inequivalve shell, with the conical to cylindrical attached valve capped by an operculiform free valve. Variations in oxygen and isotopic composition of hippuritid shells indicate that they recorded valuable information about their life histories, growth patterns and changes in ambient water temperatures. The elaborated system of pores and canals in the free valve for access to feeding currents allowed them to occupy environments with siliciclastic as well as carbonate sedimentation.

Hippuritids were sediment-dwellers that grew with their shells partially embedded in, and supported by the surrounding sediment, which implies that they occupied calm to moderate energy environments with interrupted to continuous sedimentation. This mode of growth permitted hippuritids continued upward growth of the entire commissure. In case of toppling, hippuritids had the faculty of resuming their upward growth by geniculated growth. The morphological characters and life habits of hippuritids have shown to be a useful tool for interpreting their depositional environment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament de Geologia Edifici C, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain

    E. Gili

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  1. E. Gili
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departament de Geologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

    Eulàlia Gili

  2. Departement des Sciences de la Terre, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

    Mohamed El Hédi Negra

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Great Britain

    Peter W. Skelton

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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Gili, E. (2003). Use of Hippuritids for Interpreting Carbonate Platform Environments. In: Gili, E., El Hédi Negra, M., Skelton, P.W. (eds) North African Cretaceous Carbonate Platform Systems. NATO Science Series, vol 28. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0015-4_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0015-4_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-1607-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0015-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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