A "stone" found in a quarry has been identified by researchers from theVietnam National Museum of Nature as a fossil of a snail from theTriassic Age.
The fossil, which is 14.5cm long and 13cm wide -the largest of its kind ever found - belongs to the Gastropoda branch,Mollusca tree, of the Naticopsis species, according to Nguyen Huu Hung, aspecialist from the museum.
"The snail dates back 242-247 million years and has been preserved perfectly," Hung said.
"The discovery is very meaningful to scientists. We believe it is the largest snail fossil from the Triassic Age found to date."
Palaeobiologists across the world have found the fossils of 85 snails belonging to the Naticopsis species, Hung said.
TruongVan Dai, a worker at a stone quarry in Quynh Loc commune in the centralprovince of Nghe An, found the fossil by chance seven years ago.
Henoticed the odd-shaped stone looked like a snail. Intrigued by thestone's shape, he decided to keep it. He would sometimes show it to hisfriends, but none of them could say what it was. He recently contactedthe museum in the hope that scientists would be able to identify it.-VNA
The fossil, which is 14.5cm long and 13cm wide -the largest of its kind ever found - belongs to the Gastropoda branch,Mollusca tree, of the Naticopsis species, according to Nguyen Huu Hung, aspecialist from the museum.
"The snail dates back 242-247 million years and has been preserved perfectly," Hung said.
"The discovery is very meaningful to scientists. We believe it is the largest snail fossil from the Triassic Age found to date."
Palaeobiologists across the world have found the fossils of 85 snails belonging to the Naticopsis species, Hung said.
TruongVan Dai, a worker at a stone quarry in Quynh Loc commune in the centralprovince of Nghe An, found the fossil by chance seven years ago.
Henoticed the odd-shaped stone looked like a snail. Intrigued by thestone's shape, he decided to keep it. He would sometimes show it to hisfriends, but none of them could say what it was. He recently contactedthe museum in the hope that scientists would be able to identify it.-VNA
