Lychnopsis bofilli is a small land snail first discovered in 1917 in the coal mines of Selva. It is small in size (10–13 mm) and has a distinctive spherical shape, with a sunken spire. It is considered one of the earliest endemic animals of Mallorca, which likely evolved in isolation during the Paleogene, a time when Mallorca was beginning to separate from the mainland.
This month’s featured specimen comes from the Joan Bauçà collection and originates from the Son Suredeta site, where fossil shell concentrations of this species appear to have been exceptionally high. The museum holds hundreds of specimens from this locality, but this particular one stands out: it still preserves the shell, where a fine granular micro-ornamentation can be seen. From each of these tiny granules, a small hair may have once emerged.
Origin: Son Suredeta, Palma, Mallorca
Age: Upper Rupelian, Oligocene, Paleogene, Cenozoic (around 32 million years ago)
