Mellita caroliniana

Taxonomy

Sand Dollar

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Echinoidea
Order: Clypeasteroida
Family: Mellitidae
Genus: Mellita
Species: Mellita caroliniana
Author Citation (Ravenel, 1842)

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Cenozoic
Period: Quaternary
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Pleistocene

Stratigraphy

Waccamaw Formation

Provenance

Collector: Don Rideout
Date Collected: 12/07/2019
Acquired by: Field Collection

Dimensions

Width: 76 mm
Thickness: 11.5 mm

Location

Private Marl Pit
Columbus County
North Carolina
United States

• mellita
• north carolina
• pleistocene
• sand dollar
• waccamaw

Comments

Pieces of these are very common at this site, however complete specimens are very rare to find. This is the 3rd and by far the best specimen I have found at this site.

References:

The Echinoid Fauna of the Lower Pleistocene Waccamaw Formation and Upper Pliocene Goose Creek Limestone of South Carolina, USA, with a description of a new Encope species.  Adam S. Osborn and Charles N. Ciampaglio, 2019.

 

Scutella caroliniana, Ravenel, 1841. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia Day, ser. 1, vol. 8, pg. 333

Mellita caroliniana, Ravenel, 1848. Echinidae, Recent and Fossil of South Carolina, pg.4.

Mellita caroliniana, Tuomey and Holmes, 1857. Pleiocene Fossils of South Carolina, pg. 8, plate 1, figure. 4 a-b.

Mellita caroliniana, Clarke and Twitchell, 1915. U.S. Geological Survey Monthly 54. Pg. 204, plate 91 figs. 1a-b, plate 92 figs. 1 a-b.

Leodia caroliniana, Cooke, 1942. Paleontology, Vol. 16 no. 1 page 2.

Mellita aclinensis, Kier, 1972. Upper Miocene Echinoids of the Yorktown Formation of Virginia and Their Environmental Significance. Pgs. 11-12 plates 6&7 figure 1