Donating My Beauty

[I_gotta_rock]

When I found this baby in a lump of sand that had fallen out of the cliffs, it took my breath away! Even in museums, I had not seen an Isognomon shell so complete! I excavated it ever so carefully with an old toothbrush, trying hard not to flake the mica-like layers off of the clumbly shell. It's been the pride and joy of my collection.

 

However, my collection is overtaking the house. So, after enjoying my pretty shell for several years, I decided to donate it to the Delaware Museum of Natural History, which prides itself on its extensive mollusk collection, both fossilized and modern.

 

The museum's fossilized shells are all kept in storage, while the colorful, modern ones are out on public display next to the Dinosaur hall.  Go figure. However, they are planning a new permanent display of fossil shells. Here's hoping that this gets viewed down the road!

 

Meanwhile, someone at the museum thinks that although Maryland Isognomons have always been identified as I. maxilllata, based on an Italian holotype, they are probably their own species. This specimen is intact enough to try to describe that new species. I can't wait to hear what happens as he works on this project!

[JohnJ]

Well done!  Here's to hoping that it is definitive enough for a description. 

[Fossildude19]

Congratulations on the fine contribution to science.  

Regards, 

[Darktooth]

Congratulations!

[jpc]

woo  hooo!

[FossilDudeCO]

Congrats!

[Max-fossils]

That's great! Congrats

[I_gotta_rock]

Update: Turns out that someone already tried to separate this into it's own genus, but it was not accepted. Peteuch described it as a new species in his 1992 book, Molluscan Paleontology of the Chesapeake Miocene.