When Scientists Analyzed An Ancient Shell, They Uncovered A 70-Million-Year Old Secret About Earth

History’s greatest scientists have learned much about the ways in which Earth has changed over the years. However, there’s still plenty about our planet that we don’t know. So, when a team of researchers used lasers to analyze an ancient shell, their discovery sent shockwaves throughout the scientific community. That’s because this unassuming fossil provided not only the key to unlocking the secrets of our past, but potentially clues to our future, too.

Shocking findings

The experts behind the study were from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Utrecht University and they published their results in February 2020 in the American Geophysical Union (AGU) journal. Their findings not only reveal a mind-blowing secret about our planet, they may also help to provide new information about the Moon. What’s more, these discoveries have all been made through close analysis of a long-extinct relative of the modern-day clam.

Going way, way back

The mollusk that the team studied dates back to around 70 million years ago, shortly before the dinosaurs were wiped out. It’s part of the Torreites sanchezi species, which belongs to a now-defunct group called rudist clams. These organisms are notable because they built up their shells in daily growth layers – a trait that proved particularly useful for the research team.

Ancient oceans

According to the AGU, T. sanchezi mollusks resembled “tall pint glasses with lids shaped like bear claw pastries.” They consisted of a pair of shells – or “valves.” And these were connected by a hinge which was akin to an asymmetrical clam. Apparently, they were most commonly found in water warmer than our oceans today and grew in thick reefs.

Long since dried up

The mollusk analyzed in this study originated from a shallow seabed, where it lived for more than nine years. The once-tropical area is now totally dry and sits within the mountains of modern-day Oman. But back then, it was home to clusters of the mollusks – until they disappeared in the same extinction event that’s thought to have eradicated the land-based dinosaurs.