As mentioned in a previous post, the mollusk shells from the Po Plain can be categorized into groups based on the depositional environment in which the species occurred. These distinct communities can be used to study the sequence stratigraphy of the Po Plain. One of the distinct groups of shells, or facies, is the delta front.

The delta front is the sloping part of a delta. Some of the common mollusk species from the delta front include the gastropod Bittium scabrum, the bivalve Donax semistriatus, and the gastropod, Cyclope neritea. When these groups of shells are found in a sediment core from Po Plain, this is an indication of a delta front environment where that core was taken at the time that those shells occurred.

Here are representative images of these common delta front species, courtesy of Daniele Scarponi, University of Bologna, Italy.