Ecphora is the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

for a group of

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

predatory

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusks within the family Muricidae, the rocks snails or murexes. The common name is based on the first officially described genus, ''

Ecphora Ecphora is the common name for a group of extinct predatory marine gastropod mollusks within the family Muricidae, the rocks snails or murexes. The common name is based on the first officially described genus, '' Ecphora''. The entire lineage ...

''. The entire lineage of these ocenebrinid murexes are descended from the Eocene murex, '' Tritonopsis''. Ecphoras are indigenous to the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n Eastern Seaboard, being found in marine strata from the Late Eocene until their extinction during the Pliocene. Many ecphora species are important index fossils.

Etymology

The name "Ecphora" is Greek, meaning "bearing out." The word was originally used by Vitruvius to signify the projecture of a member or moulding of a column, and here refers to the distinctive "T-shaped" ribs that project from the shell.Oxford English Dictionary, "Ecphora" entry.

Subdivisions

There are at least 70 recognized species in eight genera, and one subgenus of ecphoras recognized. *'' Rapanecphora'' from Priaboian stage ( Eocene) until the early Miocene *'' Chesathais'' from

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

to Aquitanian stage (Miocene) *'' Ecphorosycon'' from Oligocene to Aquitanian stage (Miocene) *'' Siphoecphora'' early Miocene *''

Trisecphora ''Trisecphora'' is a genus of extinct predatory ocenebrinid murexes indigenous to the Miocene coastline of what is now Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia from the Aquitanian epoch until their extinction near the end of the Serravallian epo ...

'' Miocene *''

'' Conrad, 1843 Miocene to Pliocene ***'' E. gardnerae'' (the type species) **'' Planecphora'' Miocene to Pliocene *'' Globecphora'' Miocene *'' Latecphora'' Miocene to Pliocene

Evolution

In his book, The Field Guide to Ecphoras, Edward Petuch proposed that the ecphoras comprised the subfamily "Ecphorinae," a sister-group of the

Rapaninae Rapaninae is a subfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae.Houart, R. (2011). Rapaninae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1962 ...

that were descended from various Maastrichtian Texan species of the Mesozoic murex genus ''Saragana''. However, later research lead Petuch to revise ecphora evolution: now, the ecphoras are thought to be ocenibrenine murexes descended from the Eocene genus ''Tritonopsis'', which is a common fossil in marine Eocene strata of the Southeastern United States. The closest living relatives of the ecphoras is the extant ocenibrine murex genus ''

Forreria ''Forreria'' is a genus of marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. The genus is indigenous to the Pacific coast of California. According to Petuch, they are the closest living relatives of the extinct ...

''. At the end of the Eocene, ''Tritonopsis'' disappeared from the fossil record, leaving behind its two daughter genera, ''Rapanecphora'' and ''Ecphorosycon''. ''Rapanecphora'' would eventually become extinct during the early Miocene, while ''Ecphorosycon'' would undergo several diversification events, one during the Oligocene that produced the genus ''Chesathais'', and two events during the early Miocene that produced the genera ''Siphoecphora'' and ''Trisecphora''. The three-ribbed ''Trisecphora'' would then give rise to the (mostly) four-ribbed genus ''Ecphora'', and both genera coexisted together with ''Chesathais'' and ''Ecphorosycon'', along with ''Ecphoras subgenus ''Planecphora'', up until midway through the Serravallian stage, when ''Planecphora'' was extirpated from the Eastern American Seaboard (surviving only in coral reefs of Florida), and all ecphora genera up to this time, save for ''Ecphora'', itself, became extinct. During the late Miocene, ''Ecphora'' would then give rise to two more daughter taxa, ''Latecphora'' and ''Globecphora''. These genera persisted until their extinction during the early Pliocene. ''Ecphora'' also persisted, though, its species were slowly pushed south to coral reefs in southern Florida due to climate changes turning the Eastern Seaboard from tropical/subtropical to temperate. Eventually, by the end of the early Pliocene, ''Ecphora'' and ''Planecphora'' were restricted to the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

atoll, until their extinction due to competition by newer murex genera invading from the Caribbean.

References

Nomenclator Zoologicus info

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3784887 Muricidae Prehistoric gastropods Index fossils Eocene genus first appearances Eocene gastropods Oligocene gastropods Miocene gastropods Pliocene gastropods Piacenzian extinctions Mollusc common names