Silurian shell?

[The Goatlady]

I have an electric stove. I let a burner heat up and touched it to the burner. I held it there as long as my hand could stand it - only 6 or 7 seconds. Nothing. It had no effect on it.

I found a patina-green copper nodule within a few inches of it in the dirt pile. I don't know if that helps.

[JohnJ]

I have an electric stove. I let a burner heat up and touched it to the burner. I held it there as long as my hand could stand it - only 6 or 7 seconds. Nothing. It had no effect on it.

I found a patina-green copper nodule within a few inches of it in the dirt pile. I don't know if that helps.

One down.

[The Goatlady]

It also has a little more weight that what you'd expect from plastic. I don't have a gram scale so I can't tell you what it does weigh. I'd have to take it to the clinic or a veterinary office.

[Auspex]

Let's look at this without the arresting color (which could be 'coloring' our thinking).

What does it look like now:

[The Goatlady]

It looks spooky!

But it's funny, I woke up thinking the same thing - what if it wasn't blue?

This area is known for Silurian fossils but that doesn't mean this is from that time. Glaciers move everything, not just the old stuff.

[The Goatlady]

I've been thinking about the shape. I googled up "ridged shells" "snail shells" "venomous snails" - remembering that poison things have bright colors and "blue snails"

I'm not sure if every non-ammonite spiral shell is a snail. There are also snails in non-spiral shells like abalone. I looked at a lot of them today and I gotta say, Nature's played fast and loose with shape and color on these babies!

Some of the folds and curves in the opening of these shells could match the shape on my little trinket. I found ridges outside as well lining the opening of the shells. Colors and patterns are all over the map. The deadly cone snails are quite striking,in more ways than one.

I don't think my piece is an entire specimen but could be part of a shell.

It's also possible that the blue color developed through some mineralization process post mortem.

Any thoughts?

Anyone who actually has access to a beach and shells care to investigate?