Gastropods.
Gastropods
Gastropod: Posh word for snail. Nothing to do with stomach insides. I have relatively few of these in the collection, but I ought to add them.
c.f. Bourguetia
Yet another prime candidate for prep work. In this case however, it will have to be very delicate. Unseen in this view, a large crack runs through the matrix and partly into the outer whorl. This specimen was given to me by my good friend Mr White. It is based in a slightly calcareous limestone, and I assume it has been collected from the Lias along the Dorset coast. If I box it up well it might find its way to my good friend Fiona.
Unknown Gastropod
I once had a tentative ID for this, but it was on a scrap of paper that has since been lost. The specimen is an internal gastropod cast, catalouge number MCH04. This translates into:
MCH04 Gastropod UnInd cast. Upper Greensand, Charnidge Quarry, Mere, Nr Warminster, Wiltshire.
Notes: Same level as MCH01 (Oxhyrina).
I might devote a paragraph somewhere to my catalouging system. In its new form it is working far better than the old (seen above as a simple 'V' designation).
The Red Crag.
Although only barely fossils (a mere 2 million years old), these shells are abundant in the Red Crag of Norfolks Naze. Many of these species are still alive in our seas today, however these specimens have undergone some limited chemical changes and are 'true' fossils, not just very very old shells.
The girt big 'un is Neptunea contraria, the other two are whelks of some sort. The ribbed one I recognise as a dog whelk, and the little circular hole on the other is typical of its feeding technique. Essentially, it has a small rasping tongue which it uses to 'drill' inside shells. Once that is done, it kills the animal and sucks its insides out. Charming.