Gastropods
Gastropod is the scientific name for snail. The gastropods belong to the phylum of Mulusca. Gastropods first occurred in the Cambrian period. They live on land as well as in the oceans. Gastropods living in the oceans are often predators. They bore holes in other shells to eat them.
Gastropods are mostly made of the mineral Aragonite. This mineral is soluble in water, and the shell in often not preserved as a fossil. The filling of the gastropod is often found as a print of the inside of the original shell. Fossils of gastropods are very common.
Example of a gastropod.
 Click here for information where to find these fossils.
 Go to the Photo page to view photographs of Gastropod. |
