Archimedes Screw Bryozoan Fossils - Alabama

Here is a nice example of Archimedes sp., a bryozoan from the Bangor Formation of Alabama. This unusual cork-screw shaped bryozoan commonly referred to as an "Archimedes Screw" is unique to the Mississippian age rocks of North America. There are a variety of other marine fossil fragments peppered throughout the limestone. This plate comes with an acrylic display stand.

Bryozoans are microscopic aquatic invertebrates that live in colonies, forming skeletal structures similar to corals. Each skeletal structure has a form unique to each particular species. The individual byrozoans forming these colonies are filter feeders called zooids, straining nutrients from the surrounding water.