John:

Provide scale and mineral composition of these suspected shell fragments.

Best

Syed

Syed - it looks as if at least some of these may be calcareous; the scale is sub-mm (the lines in the background are mm marks,,,

John:

You could easily test these elements with Dilute HCL for calcareous nature, but even then it may be extremely difficult to say anything about these tiny fragments. Why not provide SEM pictures for some clues.

Best

Syed

I cannot see any foram. N. 1 seems to me a bryozoan, N. 2 and 3 worn gastropod shells, N. 4 a sponge? (very difficult to say...). The quality of the pictures does not help.

Thanks Cesare - someone had already suggested that the first one may be syringopora and the fourth possibly a crinoid stem (both Carboniferous?). I guess your answer would back that up. What about the suspected gastropod fragments - do you think they could be derived from the local Carboniferous limestone, or do they appear younger? Could these have been 'recycled' from Quaternary (seafloor) deposits?  

1. looks like as a bryozoan; 2-3 seems to be gastropods but I am not sure; 4. I think it is a spoge. All the best.

1. looks like serpulid tubes

2. reminds me of an agglutinated forma but is rather a fragment of bivalve

3. indeed a serpulid tube

4. could be a fragment of echinoid plate (or again a serpulid tube)

Good luck

Bruno

Number 1 includes Candona shells of ostracods.

The images is not clear enough to identify