GLOSSARY OF GASTROPOD MORPHOLOGIC TERMS
Assembled by Ethan Kerns, summer 2002, NMITA
REU
Illustrations and objective data courtesy
of AMOCO Production Co., Alan B. Shaw (Manager, South Florida Carbonate Project),
and Brian F. Glenister (AMOCO Consultant)
Diagram showing general gastropod morphology
List of Morphologic Characters useful in distinguishing gastropod species
in the South Florida Area
Click on the character name to see definitions and character states.
A. Shape of shell
1. General shape
2. Aperture shape
B. Spire (from the apex to the body whorl)
1. Number of whorls
2. Sutures
C. Outer lip (the outer edge of the aperture)
1. Thickness
2. Teeth
Morphologic data compiled from:
Moore, R. C., C. Lalicker, and A. Fischer.
Invertebrate Fossils. McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc., New York. 1952
Morris, Percy A. A Field Guide to Shells
of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston. 1975
Rehder, Harald A. The Auburn Society
Field Guide to North American Seashells. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 1981
Last updated on September 17, 2002- eek.
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