Other Fossils
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of over 500 fossils not included within other entries for the palaeontology collection. The collection is almost exclusively Scottish and the main groups represented in the collection are Porifera (sponges) and Annelida (annelid worms). Sponges are marine animals that live attached to the sea floor. They are simple multicellular animals with a body formed of independent specialised cells. Their bodies are reinforced by an endoskeleton of mineral or organic substances to support their shape. In some species the endoskeleton consists of interconnected needle-like structures called spicules, made from calcium or silica. It is often only these small, hard parts of the sponge that are preserved in rocks. Much of the collection of Carboniferous sponges consists of these tiny sponge spicules, or spike-like structures. The 40 lots in the collection comprise a much higher number of specimens. The fossil sponges are mainly from the Carboniferous, with a few examples from other periods. The collection of annelid worms includes over 400 specimens of worm tubes. Most are from the Carboniferous of Scotland. Annelids are the most important group of higher worms and are amongst the oldest groups of multicellular organisms with a bilaterally symmetrical body. They have an elongate, segmented body. They produce a calcareous tube in which they live, and it is these tubes that are preserved in the fossil record. The Carboniferous sponges and annelids are also of scientific importance and both groups include type and figured material.
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