Gastropods Gastropods are animals that live on land or water. Their name is derived from gaster + poda (Greek) meaning stomach foot. If you watch a snail moving along on its single foot, you can understand the name. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda Gastropods are molluscs, like bivalves and cephalopods (ammonites, belemnites and nautiloids). Gastropods include sea shellfish such as whelks, and land creatures such as snails. On the left is a snail, looking for my lettuces. Gastropods have a single shell, unlike bivalves. The state fossil of Maryland is Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae , a gastropod.

Size: 12mm

Timescale: Gastropods have been around for a long time, over 480 million years ago. There are still gastropods alive today.

This gastropod is called Bathrotomaria reticulata. Size: 34mm

This gastropod is called Neptuna contraria because the spiral goes anti-clockwise - the opposite way to most gastropods. It is from the Pliocene period (Cenozoic), about 3 million years old. It comes from Essex, Red Crag. Size: 50mm

This gastropod is from the Jurassic period, about 170 million years old. It comes from the Cotswalds, UK. Size: 17mm

These gastropods were collected on Portland Bill, Dorset, from the limestone. Sizes: 25mm & 30mm

This tiny gastropod is called Turritella. Sizes: 12mm


This is Turritella Agate which is full of Turritella fossils. Here are four views of the same piece. Size of stone: 32mm

These Turritella shells were collected at Bracklesham Bay, near Chichester. They litter the beach!The biggest shell is 35mm

© Jo Edkins 2007 - Return to Fossils index