>The question "How long does a shell have to be buried or how old does it have
>to be to be considered a fossil?, was asked at our shell club meeting last
>month.  Also does it have to be extinct?  Any comments and/or information
>would be appreciated.

If it no longer smells, it may be a fossil.  The offical cutoff is the
beginning of the Holocene, 10,000 years ago, when the glaciers were
starting their most recent retreat.  Subfossil is a term that can be used
for more recently deceased material that is obviously not fresh.

Many extant species can be found as fossils.  This is very helpful in
determining the environment of a fossil deposit.

David Campbell

"Old Seashells"

Department of Geological Sciences
CB 3315 Mitchell Hall
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill NC 27599-3315
USA

919-962-0685
FAX 919-966-4519

"He had discovered an unknown bivalve, forming a new genus"-E. A. Poe, The
Gold Bug