PARENT COMPANIES: TRUE BLUE OPALS PTY LTD & LIGHTNING OPALS LLC

GASTROPOD (SNAIL)

COOBER PEDY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

OPALIZED FOSSIL

Gastropod or gastropods, more commonly known as snails and slugs, are a large taxonomic class within the phylum Mollusca. The class Gastropod includes snails and slugs of all kinds and all sizes from microscopic to Achatina achatina, the largest known land gastropod. There are many thousands of species of sea snails and sea slugs, as well as freshwater snails, freshwater limpets, land snails and land slugs.

Gastropod (previously known as univalves and sometimes spelled "Gastropod") are a major part of the phylum Mollusca, and are the most highly diversified class in the phylum,

An opalised gastropod is a fossilized shell of a gastropod (a type of mollusk, like a snail) that has been replaced or filled in with precious opal instead of the original shell material. These are exceptionally rare and beautiful specimens, found mostly in Australia, particularly in Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy, and Andamooka—places famous for opal mining.

Key Features:

• Gastropod structure: The shell retains its original spiral or conical shape, characteristic of gastropods.

• Opal replacement: Silica-rich solutions seep into the shell over millions of years and crystallize into opal, sometimes forming vivid, colorful patterns (precious opal).

• Play-of-color: High-quality opalised fossils show iridescent flashes of color due to diffraction of light through the silica spheres in the opal.

Why It's Special:

• Combines paleontology and gemology.

• Can be used as jewelry, collector's items, or museum specimens.

• Offers insight into ancient marine environments of the Cretaceous period, when central Australia was covered by a vast inland sea.

PARENT COMPANIES: TRUEBLUEOPALS PTY LTD (AUSTRALIA ) AND LIGHTNINGOPAL LLC (USA)