Gibbulinella dealbata Gastropod from the Canary Islands

This last set of fossils from the Canary Islands are small and delicate. I received these as part of an exchange with a collector from Spain.  He sent me the cluster of partial shells shown below. The shells are very thin and so were packed in cotton to give them some cushioning.

Cluster 1

Cluster 2

I also received this loose shell which is in good condition.  The label that was included listed these fossils as coming from near the town of Bajamar, on the island of Tenerife.  The label had them named as "Napaeus lajaensis" but a search on Google of that species yielded examples that did not match the specimens I have in hand. N. lajaensis is a more high spired shell with the tip of the shell being pointed, not rounded to near flat like my specimens. A little bit more searching and I believe I found a more likely candidate: Gibbulinella dealbata. This page from Wikipedia shows an example that is much closer to what I have, and it lists it as being found in the Canary Islands.

So I am comfortable changing the label to Gibbulinella dealbata as that seems to be a closer match.

Right profile

Operculum

View of tip looking towards operculum

View of the bottom looking from the operculum towards the tip.

This fossil is Pleistocene in age and comes from fossilized dune deposits on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain.

Thais sp.? gastropod from the Canary Islands

Below is a gastropod fossil from near the town of Taganana on the island of Tenerife, Canadry Islands, Spain.  The label that came with it identified it as "Thais speciosa". I received this fossil in an exchange with a collector in Spain so I believe it should read "Thais sp.", meaning the collector did not know what species within the genus of Thais this fossil belonged to.  I am not able to ID the shell down to the species level either, and am unsure if it even belongs in the Thais genus and the exterior shell ornamentation does not match anything I can find on Google.

The shell is longer than it is wide but does not have a high spiral. The shell is thicker than the land snail shells I received in the same trade so perhaps it is marine in origin?

I could be wrong though, any readers of this blog have an idea what this shell is?

Looking from the tip down the axis of the shell

Profile with operculum

Looking at the bottom down the axis of the shell

Profile without operculum

This fossil is Pleistocene in age and comes from soil deposits on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain.

Hemicycla collarifera gastropod from the Canary Islands

In a previous post I wrote about an insect fossil from the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.  In the same exchange that gave me that fossil I also received some land snail fossils from the same area.

Below is Hemicycla collarifera which is a low conispiraled gastropod similar to Hemicycla consobrina but has much more pronounced growth lines. 

This fossil is Pleistocene in age and comes from fossilized dune deposits near the town of Bajamar on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain.

Hemicycla consobrina gastropod from the Canary Islands

In a previous post I wrote about an insect fossil from the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.  In the same exchange that gave me that fossil I also received some land snail fossils from the same area. Below is Hemicycla consobrina from Bajamar on the island of Tenerife.

Hemicycla consobrina is a low conispiraled gastropod very typical of most land snails that one finds in the woods. The shell is relatively smooth but faint ridges (growth lines) are visible.

This fossil is Pleistocene in age and comes from fossilized dune deposits on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain.

Clathrospira subconica gastropod from the Marble Hill Bed.

Clathrospira subconica is another common gastropod fossil that is found in the Marble Hill Bed. It is not nearly as common as Paupospira bowdeni but good examples are not hard to find.  This is another high spired, conispiraled gastropod but it is shorter and fatter than Paupospira bowdeni. The shell opening is triangular in shape and this results in a somewhat sharp edge to each spiral.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2

The "Marble Hill Bed" is part of the Rowland Member of the Drakes formation (equivalent the Whitewater formation in Ohio and Indiana). It is upper Ordovician in age, Katian (Richmondian) stage (450-445 mya) and located near Carrollton, KY. I collected these fossils in July of 2016.

Paupospira bowdeni gastropod from the Marble Hill Bed

I made a post a while back about some fossils that friends of mine had sent me from a curious locality called the "Marble Hill Bed". This post is part of a series meant to focus on the individual specimens that come from that location. Today we are looking at Paupospira bowdeni, a high turrented conispiral gastropod. This is the most common fossil found in the "Marble Hill Bed" with hundreds of individuals to be found in matrix or eroded free. The often preserve the majority of their 3D shape but generally show some compression in one axis. The opening and living chamber are tube shaped.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2

Here are some as they lie exposed on the ground, weathered free from the rock.

The "Marble Hill Bed" is part of the Rowland Member of the Drakes formation (equivalent the Whitewater formation in Ohio and Indiana). It is upper Ordovician in age, Katian (Richmondian) stage (450-445 mya) and located near Carrollton, KY. I collected these fossils in July of 2016.

Biomphalaria sp. & Goniobasis sp. Gastropods from the Green River Formation

Within the limestone layers of the Green River formation that are exposed in the split fish quarries you will occasionally find some gastropod fossils. The degree of preservation is variable but I have found at least two genera during my trips to Kemmerer, WY.

The most common genus that I have found is Goniobasis sp. which is a high spired, conical shell. Specimen #1 below is fairly well preserved and you can see the aperture on both the positive and negative slab.

Positive and negative slabs followed by close ups of each slab

Specimen #2 - Less well preserved. Positive and negative slabs

The other genus is Biomphalaria sp. and I only have one example. It is a small planispiral shell with no ornamentation and very narrow whorls.

Positive and negative slabs

I used the book "The Lost World of Fossil Lake: Snapshots from Deep Time", Lance Grande, University of Chicago Press, 2013, page 91, figure 40 to identify the above specimens (figure below).

These fossils come from the Fossil Butte member of the Green River formation (Paleogene period, Eocene epoch, Ypresian stage). I found them at the Thompson Ranch split fish quarries which are publicly available to collect in at a number of commercial quarries which lease access.

Palaeozygopleura hamiltoniae gastropod from the Moscow formation

Another common gastropod from the middle Devonian is Palezygopleura hamiltoniae. Below are a couple of examples from the Deep Springs Rd. locality in New York. The species is easily recognized by the long conispiral shell that is typically 1-3cm in length. There are prominent growth lines all along the shell that looked like an arc facing away from the shell aperture. This gastropod was extremely common and old shells were often used as hard substrate for colonial organisms like coral and bryozoans the nucleate on. Just such an example of this can be seen under the base of a colony of Pleurodictyum americanum coral.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2

Other examples of this genus that I've posted before from the Penn Dixie locality, the Mahantango formation, the Needmore shale mbr. of the Onondoga formation, and just for good measure, here is a cousin from Germany.

These specimens were found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.)