Eocene Fossil Gastropods (Athleta & Globularia) - Damery, France

These are two nicely preserved, eocene aged gastropod fossils (Athleta spinosa and Globularia patula) from Damery, France. They are still partially embedded in a limestone/conglomerate that contains a variety of smaller gastropods and shell fragments.

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.