File:Crommium angustatum fossil snail shell (Lower Oligocene; Gaas, Aquitaine, France) 2 (16944067717).jpg

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Crommium angustatum Grateloup, 1827 fossil snail shell (apical view) from the Oligocene of France. (42 mm across at its widest)

Of all the molluscs, the gastropods (snails) have made the most ecological adaptations. They can be found in almost all fundamental environments: marine, freshwater, terrestrial. Most gastropods live in the ocean, and have a single, asymmetrically coiled, external shell of calcium carbonate (CaCO3 - usually aragonite). The hard calcareous shell is the most easily fossilized part of the gastropod. The soft parts of a snail (the “slug” portion) include a well developed head having eyes, tentacles, and a mouth, and a well developed, strong, muscular foot used principally for locomotion. The shell is carried upright on the snail’s back, or is partially dragged behind. When threatened by a predator, many snails can retract their soft parts into the shell’s interior for protection.

Many fossil snails in the Paleozoic rock record are often not well preserved, or are preserved as internal molds. The original aragonite of many gastropod shells is not stable on geologic time scales, and often recrystallizes or dissolves completely away. Fossil snail shells in Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks are usually better preserved.

Classification: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Naticoidea, Ampullinidae

Age: Rupelian Stage (Stampian Stage), Lower Oligocene

Locality: Gaas, Landes Department, Aquitaine, southwestern France
Date
Source Crommium angustatum fossil snail shell (Lower Oligocene; Gaas, Aquitaine, France) 2
Author James St. John

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This image was originally posted to Flickr by jsj1771 at https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/16944067717. It was reviewed on 3 May 2015 by FlickreviewR and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

3 May 2015

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current21:50, 3 May 2015Thumbnail for version as of 21:50, 3 May 20152,240 × 2,048 (2.32 MB)Natuur12 (talk | contribs)Transferred from Flickr via Flickr2Commons

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