A Scheme for Classifying Gastropod Egg Masses With Special Reference to Those From the Northwestern Red Sea

Gastropod egg capsules preserved on an Early Cretaceous ammonite from Daghestan, Russia

“…As with Recent neritimorph egg capsules (e.g., Adegoke et al, 1969;Pechenik 1982;Soliman 1987;Rawlings 1999;Przeslawski 2004;Aktipis et al, 2008;Kano and Fukumori 2010;Bigatti et al, 2010; see Roche et al, 2011 for a review; Fig. 3F), those described here were produced en masse on hard substrate in the form of aragonitic ammonite shell.…”

“…Egg capsules differ in composition, shape and size depending on the gastropod group (e.g., Soliman 1987;Rawlings 1999). However, due to the organic composition of most gastropod egg capsules (e.g., Soliman 1987;Hawkins and Hutchinson 1988;Rawlings 1999), their fossil record is poor and very patchy, being known only from a few localities.…”

“…Egg capsules differ in composition, shape and size depending on the gastropod group (e.g., Soliman 1987;Rawlings 1999). However, due to the organic composition of most gastropod egg capsules (e.g., Soliman 1987;Hawkins and Hutchinson 1988;Rawlings 1999), their fossil record is poor and very patchy, being known only from a few localities. The oldest known come from Lower Jurassic (Hettangian) deltaic deposits of Poland (Zato n et al, 2009), and the youngest putative gastropod egg capsules are known from Miocene limnic to swamp deposits of the Czech Republic (Mikul a s and Dvo r ak 2001).…”

The operculum of Otostoma Retzii (Nilsson, 1827) (Gastropoda, Neritidae; Late Cretaceous) and its phylogenetic significance

“…Today, egg capsules are produced by various caenogastropods and neritimorphs. Those produced by the latter group are tough, flattened capsules that are oval or spher− ical in shape, composed of conchiolin as well as chitin (e.g., Adegoke et al 1969;Bandel 1982;Kaiser and Voigt 1983;Soliman 1987;Kano and Fukumori 2010). Egg capsules may be reinforced by either aragonite or calcite crystals (e.g., Bandel 1982; Kano and Fukumori 2010), increasing the likelihood of fos− silisation (see Voigt 1977, 1983;Zatoń et al 2009).…”

“…Egg capsules may be reinforced by either aragonite or calcite crystals (e.g., Bandel 1982; Kano and Fukumori 2010), increasing the likelihood of fos− silisation (see Voigt 1977, 1983;Zatoń et al 2009). Neritid egg capsules are laid down on various hard substrates, in− cluding mollusc shells, and are often aggregated into groups (e.g., Adegoke et al 1969;Soliman 1987;Kano and Fukumori 2010).…”