'' Ecphora gardnerae'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of extinct

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

ocenebrinid

murex ''Murex'' is a genus of medium to large sized predatory tropical sea snails. These are carnivorous marine gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae, commonly called "murexes" or "rock snails".Houart, R.; Gofas, S. (2010). Murex Linnaeus, 175 ...

gastropod. Shells of ''E. gardnerae'' are found in Miocene-aged marine strata of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Subspecies

Subspecies include: * ''Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae'', the nominate subspecies

Geological history

This species of large carnivorous sea snail lived during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

, and became extinct more than five million years ago. This species was previously known as ''

Ecphora quadricostata 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 of ...

'', but that name is now restricted to a species which is found from

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58mollusks, usually bivalves, or sometimes other snails, including other, smaller ''Ecphora''s, in order to feed on their soft insides using a toothed, ribbonlike appendage (common to almost all gastropods) known as a radula.

Commemoration of the fossil

In March 1994, Dr. Eric Seifter testified before the Maryland Legislature that the classification of the

State Fossil, ''Ecphora quadricostata'' was invalid (''quadricostata'' is not actually found in Maryland) and needed to be changed to ''Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae''. The fossil was named for geologist Julia Anna Gardner.

References

* D. Wilson. 1987. ''Species of Ecphora, including the subgenus Stenomphalus, in the Pungo River Formation.'' Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 61:21-30

External links

Maryland Geological Survey: Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell
Ocenebrinae Miocene gastropods Symbols of Maryland Fossil taxa described in 1987 {{paleo-muricid-stub