KGS Home > Fossils > Invertebrate Fossils > Mollusca(Sea Shells)
Gastropoda Preservation--Recrystallization
Many snail fossils are recrystallized (see below) because the original shell material (aragonite) is not stable over geologic time. The shell, if preserved, is commonly replaced or recrystallized by calcite. This specimen is Palaeozyglopleura.
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Some snail fossils, like the Strobeus below from the Pennsylvanian of eastern Kentucky, were found with the original color pattern preserved and the original shell mineral. Most fossil snails do not preserve the original color pattern.
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Just as there are many types and shapes of snails today, there were many shapes in the past. In Kentucky, high-spired and low-spired gastropod fossils can be found. They are common in Ordovician, Devonian and Pennsylvanian strata in Kentucky.
Links
Some Kentucky gastropod fossils, at the Kentucky Paleontological Society webpage.
