Browse Items (155 total)

(uncatalogued) Extinct species - Scleractinian corals are still living today and are known as rock coral.

(DSM# 1085) Extinct genus - These calcareous tubes were once the home of sessile, soft-bodied marine worms. Sessile means that they are stationary and don't have means to move around on their own.

(DSM# 1691) Extinct species - This genus of tusk shell has more than fifty-one living species. Though we don't know which species this fossil represents it is likely it is extinct.

(DSM# 1875) Extant genus - This brachiopod is sometimes known as a "lamp shell" because of its resemblance to Roman oil lamps. Living relatives are found in marine environments worldwide.

(uncatalogued) The holes in this Gryphaeid oyster were left behind by a boring sponge. Boring organisms have the ability to dissolve calcareous shell which allows them to encrust other living and dead organisms.

(DSM# 10758) Extant genus - Clionid sponges are well known borers of other marine organisms such as clams and snails. They are able to dissolve shell material which helps secure them to a surface.

(DSM# FK342) Extinct genus - This is a marine crab that has only one species assigned to it. It is exclusively found in Cretaceous sediments of the southeastern United States.

(unnumbered) Fossilized tree sap is well known for preserving insects and other small animals.

(DSM# 1871) This crab was found near the Mississippi State University campus and has not yet been identified to Genus or species level.

(DSM# M266) Extinct order - Belemnites' closest living relative is the cuttle fish. The fossil you see here is the internal skeleton of the creature.