1.6" Ecphora Gardnerae Gastropod Fossil Shell Lee Creek Miocene Epoch North Carolina

Location: Lee Creek, North Carolina

Weight: 0.5 Ounces 

Dimensions: 1.6 Inches Long, 1.6 Inches Wide, 1.3 Inches Thick

The item pictured is the one you will receive. 

Miocene Epoch, 5.3 million to 23.3 million years old.

Ecphora gardnerae is an extinct species of predatory sea snail in the family Muricidae. It was officially designated as the state fossil of Maryland in 1994.

These snails were carnivorous predators, using their radula to bore holes into the shells of other mollusks—primarily bivalves—to feed on their soft tissues.

Temporal Range: Ecphora gardnerae lived during the Miocene epoch, approximately 23 to 5.3 million years ago. Fossils of this species are found in Miocene-aged marine strata along the East Coast of the United States.

Taxonomic History: The classification of Ecphora has a complex history. Early Maryland specimens were initially identified as Ecphora quadricostata, but this name is now restricted to a Pliocene species found from Virginia to Florida. In 1987, Maryland specimens were reclassified as Ecphora gardnerae by Druid Wilson and were further subdivided into subspecies by Ward and Gilinsky in 1988.