shell fossils
Petrified mollusk remains
Shell fossils are the preserved remains of mollusk shells—clams, snails, ammonites, and similar creatures—found in sedimentary rock.
Because shells are hard and durable, they fossilize readily, making them among the most common fossils.
They appear in limestone, shale, and chalk formations worldwide: The hillside was littered with shell fossils from an ancient seabed.
- brachiopodHinged-shell marine invertebrate
- molluskSoft-bodied invertebrate, often shelled
- nautiloidChambered cephalopod subclass
- sedimentary rockLayered geological formation
- paleontologyStudy of ancient organisms
limestone · gastropod · shale · calcium carbonate · ammonite · bivalve · coquina · taxonomy · radiometric dating · cephalopod · beach combing · rock hammer · natural history museum · stratigraphy · Burgess Shale · evolutionary biology · marl · comparative anatomy