Interesting Inclusions In A Gastropod Steinkern

[Plax]

Found a gastropod steinkern last week from sequence 3 of the Castle Hayne Formation with some unusual inclusions and mineral growth. The steinkern has a highly polished surface but has been partially coated with minerals. The coating is presumable calcitic but also has some marcasite? crystals adhering. A natural window into the shells sediment content shows small spiral fossils and a neat dendrite. Gastropod is 2.25 inches longest measure. Pics were taken with DinoXcope.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Plax

[Jersey]

Wow - that looks like baby snails in the mother snail's shell, which happens as discussed in: http://animals.pawnation.com/sea-snails-care-young-1449.html and http://www.ehow.com/info_10059159_reproduction-freshwater-snails.html . Nice find.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Jersey

[Plax]

thanks Jersey. That would be very interesting it this species was ovoviviparous(?)

[FossilDAWG]

That's a very neat specimen. The spirals really look like serpulids to me, they would have grown when the shell was empty. "Baby snails" would not have been attached to the inside surface of "Mom's" shell like that, even in ovoviviparous species the young are not sessile.

Don

[Plax]

quite right Dawg, the odds of the baby gastropods all being oriented that way is impossible, am fairly sure I've seen Spirorbis (or a related genus) in the Castle Hayne, wish the pic showed the glass window aspect of this specimen

[Jersey]

That's a very neat specimen. The spirals really look like serpulids to me, they would have grown when the shell was empty. "Baby snails" would not have been attached to the inside surface of "Mom's" shell like that, even in ovoviviparous species the young are not sessile.

Don

I see what you mean. I stand corrected.