.4" Jurassic Sea Snail (Ataphrus) Fossil - Évrecy, France

Jurassic Sea Snail (Ataphrus) Fossil - Évrecy, France #367758

This is a beautiful, .4" tall Ataphrus acis fossil sea snail shell from a Middle Jurassic (Bajocian Stage) marine deposit in Évrecy, France. The fossil is fully inflated and has been exposed from the rock it was found in.

Gastropods, or snails, have been around since the Late Cambrian period. The class Gastropoda contains a vast total of named species, second only to the insects in overall number. There are 611 known families of gastropods, of which 202 families are extinct and appear only in the fossil record.