2.45" Ordovician Bivalve (Whiteavesia) Fossil - Wisconsin

Ordovician Bivalve (Whiteavesia) Fossil - Wisconsin #248574

This is a 2.45" wide fossil of the Middle Ordovician bivalve mollusk Whiteavesia modioliformis. Both halves of the specimen were preserved, and are both exposed from the rock they were found in. This fossil is part of an old collection from the Grand Detour Formation in Beloit, Wisconsin. The hinge was broken and reattached, so several repaired cracks can be seen around the area.

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.