turtlefoot Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Hi everyone, I found a rock that has multiple small gastropod fossils and gastropod impressions in it. When looking at it a little closer, I saw this grouping of three fossils. Two are gastropods, but I am unsure of the third. Is it also a gastropod that still has the host rock over it where it has not eroded or is it something different? The scale is in millimeters. This was found outside of Willow Springs, Missouri, USA and is a surface find in disturbed soil. Once again, thank you for taking the time to help a rookie learn. I appreciate it. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 This is what I'm thinking. Imagine the shell buried vertically instead of horizontally like the others. All that is exposed is the aperture of the snail, with the rest of the shell being buried by the matrix. 2 Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Welcome to the forum! You are correct on Gastropods for the two spiral shaped structures. The round structure is more problematic. I would suggest it's either a cross section through a Cephalopod, or a Brachiopod. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlefoot Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 I really appreciate the help that you are giving me. Cephalopods are one of the more common fossils that I find here. I can easily see it being a cross section of one. I can also see what is meant about this possibly being an aperture of a snail, but I do have a question. If this were to be just the aperture being visible, and the rest of the shell still in the rock, wouldn't this make the gastropod much larger than the other ones in this rock? If so, I don't think that it could be that. I have found literally hundreds of these snail type gastropods and out of all that I have found in this location, less than ten have been over 6-7mm in length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 4 hours ago, turtlefoot said: If this were to be just the aperture being visible, and the rest of the shell still in the rock, wouldn't this make the gastropod much larger than the other ones in this rock? Yes. But, this was only my SWAG (Scientific Wild ### Guess). As soon as I posted, I saw that @Shamalama had posted his assessment. I would not rule that out at all. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlefoot Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 SWAG, never heard the term before but it is now one of my favorites! I truly appreciate any ideas and help that anyone is willing to offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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