A Pringle is a faux potato chip made by P&G. All of them are the same size and
weight and have the same contours. They stay unbroken better in cheese dips.
    I don't think I have seen a 10 inch Brachiopod. In the Ordivician limestone
and mudstone that covers Cincinnati, There are many, many Brachs: Rafinesquina,
Platystrophia,--et cetera. We are on an eroded dome here. 50 miles away we come
to Silurian material, and 150 miles away, there is Devonian. (Just estimating
miles).
    I have found some really fine Brachs washed out of mudstone after large
rainfalls.
            Art

Joe and Nora wrote:

> Joe here.  What an interesting observation re size of the Ordovician
> gastropods. Made me look up some specimens. I have some lower paleozoic
> specimens that are up to 1.5 inches...but as brachiopods increased in
> numbers and dominance into the Silurian through to Permian...my gastropod
> specimens shrink on average size...especially those in the Carboniferous
> when there were some humongous brachiopods (up to 10 inches wide) around. On
> the flip side: I also noticed that modern brachiopods (I'm working from
> limited knowledge of these) tend to be on the small side (usually under an
> inch?..at least the half dozen in my collection)...whereas today many
> species of gastropods can be found in much larger sizes. Maybe only one of
> these critters is dominant in a 'niche' at any given time.
> P.S.  What's a Pringle? Are we Canadians being deprived of the cutting edge
> og American food technology?
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Art Weil" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2000 7:27 PM
> Subject: Re: Hormotoma/ no modern descendents?
>
> > Dear J & N;-
> >     I'm sure everyone but me is right. It happens ---(rather frequently
> lately).
> > But in your comments on very ancient gastropods, I have made notice of
> some
> > features as we pack and move an entire museum collection. 1. I haven't
> seen an
> > ordivician gastropod over an inch in length. 2. I haven't seen these
> ancient
> > mollusks exhibiting either spines, or striations of any sort. 350 to 400
> million
> > years ago, they learned the art of coiling to save space. During that
> period,
> > the Mollusks appear to have lived darkly and quietly while Brachiopods
> were
> > strutting their variations on the stage of life.
> >     The only other thing I have learned this week is that "Pringles"
> aren't
> > nearly as good as real, honest potato chips.
> >         Art
> >
> > Joe and Nora wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Art,
> > >
> > > Some authours used to extend the Hormotoma superfamily
> (pleurotomariacea)
> > > into the the Devonian and Carboniferous (genera such as Rhineoderma,
> Baylea,
> > > etc.)...others saw no connection other than outward morphology. Raymond
> > > Moore had this family extending to modern genera but later reduced it to
> > > lower paleozoic... cutting the line to the upper paleozoic...others cut
> the
> > > line from upper paleozoic to the Mesozoic...gets complicated!!
> > > Paleozoic gastropods are a very understudied group. They need attention.
> A
> > > good chunk of paleozoic paleontology is based on biostratigraphy and
> > > gastropods have not been very useful in this respect. Much more useful
> > > macrofossils for this purpose are rugose and tabulate corals and
> > > brachiopods. I had the opportunity to work with a couple of 'doctor
> > > emeritus' (old fossils themselves) and they never had any time or
> > > inclination to look at gastropods....we spent our time thin sectioning
> > > corals to determine rock ages, etc.   An aside to all this: most of the
> > > preeminent paleozoic coral researchers(Sando, Pedder, Bamber,
> > > Federosky,etc.) do not believe that modern corals (the scleractinians)
> are
> > > in anyway related to paleozoic corals. They see Mesozoic corals arising
> from
> > > some unknown group in the Triassic..but that is another story.
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Art Weil" <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2000 8:41 PM
> > > Subject: Re: Hormotoma/ no modern descendents?
> > >
> > > > Dear Joe;-
> > > >     I understand the dieing out of Hormatoma----but did it do so
> without
> > > > branches, descendants, etc.? It appears nothing like  a "Slit-Shell",
> but
> > > very
> > > > much like slim coiled families----Terebra, Epitoniidae, Miters, etc.
> > > >         Art
> > > >
> > > > Joe and Nora wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Hello Art,
> > > > >
> > > > > Joe here. I sifted through my collection and literature. All of our
> > > > > 'Hormotoma' specimens are Ordovician or Silurian in age. This is
> mostly
> > > a
> > > > > North American fossil (although also found 'rarely' in Europe). It
> was
> > > > > usually placed (despite its outward appearance) until the 1940's  in
> the
> > > > > superfamily Pleurotomariacea by some authors. Its kin, Mourlonia,
> > > somewhat
> > > > > resembles descendents through to the Pleurotmaria.
> > > > > Subsequesnt authors do not place it in this superfamily but place it
> in
> > > > > agroup archaeogastropods with no further lineage. It is thought to
> die
> > > out
> > > > > in the Silurian. It is thought by most to have no relationship with
> the
> > > > > modern pleurotomaria.
> > > > > Most authors ( some exceptions) do not accept any known antecedents
> of
> > > the
> > > > > modern Pleurotomaria until the Mesozoic age.
> > > > > Your species 'gracilis' was first placed in the genus  Murchisonia
> > > (Hall,
> > > > > 1847) and subsequently changed by the author to Hormotoma sometime
> in
> > > the
> > > > > 1850's (I 'think').
> > > > >     Nora and I just obtained a scanner and it is surprising how well
> it
> > > > > scans small fossils. Sometime in the not too distant furue we'll
> scan
> > > some
> > > > > paleozoic gastropods, mesozoic pleurotomaria, etc. and make them
> > > accessible
> > > > > to Conch-L subscribers to view.
> > > > >
> > > > > Original Message -----
> > > > > From: "Art Weil" <[log in to unmask]>
> > > > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > > > Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2000 7:34 PM
> > > > > Subject: Hormotoma
> > > > >
> > > > > > Dear (probably Old Seashells and Andy);-
> > > > > >         What I have here is a Hormotoma gracilis (maybe
> Homotoma?). It
> > > > > > measures 13.48mm long and is about 400 million years old. Since a
> > > > > > fleeting glance makes it look like an Epitonium (or Cerith or
> other
> > > > > > coiled critter) I wondered if there is some descendency from the
> > > fossil
> > > > > > that I have. Inquiring minds want to know.
> > > > > >             Art