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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Photo: Fossils Lend Clues to Alaska's Eurasian Roots


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Geologists have found striking similarities between fossil shells found in Alaska and shells from Europe and Russia that date back to the same time, the Paleozoic era's Silurian period, between 417 million and 443 million years ago.

This Spinicharybdis krizi (above) or spiny whirlpool snail, found in the southeastern Alaska panhandle by geologist David Rohr, bristles with delicate, hollow tubular spines that Rohr says probably supported it like tripods on hard reefs.

̬Photograph courtesy David Rohr