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Gastropod Main
Glossary
References
Links
Hooper Main |
Morphology 3
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Figure 10: The Parts of a Typical Gastropod Shell. The same general structures can be seen on almost all gastropods of any time period. |
Adult snail shells can take many shapes. A generalised gastropod fossil is given in Fig. 10, with basic parts labelled. Although this is a simple turbanate form, many of the same features can be seen in other shell forms in Fig. 11. Most recent snails, as well as the majority of fossil shells, are coiled. These shells are made of aragonite (secreted by the mantle lining in Fig. 8) or, less frequently, calcium carbonate. They have one chamber, though a few species have remnant septa, linking them evolutionarily with septate cephalopods.
Figure 11: Generalised Gastopod Shell Forms. These forms are common throughout the geologic history of gastropods. All can be seen even today.
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