1.8" Ecphora Gardnerae Gastropod Fossil Shell Lee Creek Miocene Epoch North Carolina
Location: Lee Creek, North Carolina
Weight: 0.5 Ounces
Dimensions: 1.8 Inches Long, 1.4 Inches Wide, 1.1 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 predatory sea snail belonging to the family Muricidae and is recognized as the official state fossil of Maryland since 1994.
These snails were carnivorous, preying on bivalves by boring holes into their shells using a specialized feeding organ called a radula to extract soft tissues.
Geological Range: Ecphora gardnerae lived during the Miocene epoch (approximately 23 to 5.3 million years ago). Fossils are primarily found in Miocene marine deposits along the East Coast of the United States, particularly in Maryland.
Taxonomic Notes: The species was originally misidentified as Ecphora quadricostata, a Pliocene species now restricted to regions from Virginia to Florida. In 1987, Maryland specimens were correctly reclassified as Ecphora gardnerae by Druid Wilson, with subsequent subspecies designations by Ward and Gilinsky in 1988.
