Volvulella oxyacrum
Volvulella oxyacrum
Summary
Volvulella oxyacrum was a minute headshield snail that probably lived within the surface layer of the soft London Clay seabed. It is interpreted as a vermivore, moving through the mud and hunting minute worms or comparable soft-bodied prey.
No gut contents or feeding organs are preserved, so that diet remains an inference rather than direct evidence. Its very small size nevertheless places it among the specialised micro-predators that exploited food living between and within the sediment particles.
Quick Identification
Look for: a minute, smooth, elongate-oval shell with a swollen body, a conspicuous narrow pointed apical neck, a slit-like aperture running almost the full length, and fine spiral grooves strongest toward the anterior end.
Diagnostic Features
- Shell is elongate-ovoid and distinctly inflated through the middle and anterior half.
- The apical end contracts abruptly into a narrow, sharply pointed rostral neck.
- The spire is involute and concealed rather than projecting as visible coiled whorls.
- The aperture is long and narrow, extending through nearly the full shell length and widening anteriorly.
- Fine incised spiral lines are strongest toward the anterior end while much of the central flank is smooth.
Fossil Details
Similar Species
Recorded Fossil Sites
No fossil-site occurrences have yet been recorded for this species.
References
- Jeffery, P.; Tracey, S. (1997). The Early Eocene London Clay Formation mollusc fauna of the former Bursledon Brickworks, Lower Swanwick, Hampshire. Tertiary Research, 17(3–4), 75–137 View reference