Gastropods Of The Pinecrest Sand

[MikeR]

I have posted my latest set of images in the Family Muricidae with the Subfamily Muricopsidae which is set apart from the rest of the family by specific characteristics with the operculum and radula.  Murcopsinae within my collection are as follows:

 

Order Neogastropoda

     Family Muricidae

          Subfamily Muricinae

               Favartia cellulosa (Conrad, 1846)

               Favartia faceta (E.H. Vokes, 1963)

               Favartia petuchi E.H. Vokes, 1994

               Favartia shilohensis (Heilprin, 1888)

               Murexsul oxytatus (Smith, 1938)

               Subpterynotus textilis (Gabb, 1873)

 

Tamiami Gastropods

 

Enjoy!

 

Mike

 

 

[Plantguy]

Hey Mike, thanks for adding to your gallery! Nice additions!  I know I've run across Subterynotus but never seen a Murexsul that I remember so I'm guessing that is an uncommon find? Thats a pretty cool shell. Some of the Favartia look very very familiar but I'll have to go see which ones I might really have...I think they are in a box with the Phyllonotus and Calotrophon types that I've never looked at closely...

Thanks again! 

Regards, Chris 

[scienceteacher79]

Mike thanks for posting this. I have many unidentified gastropods from South Florida, but have hundreds identified. I am new to the forum but have collected FL fossil shells for a decade having lived there for 12 years. If I post some pictures here, could you help ID? Not sure how to send private message or even if it is allowed.

Thanks,

Scott

[Coco]

Hi,

 

Why send private messages to have your shells identified ? Everyone would like to learn from these identifications ! Make your demands publicly !

 

Coco

[elcoincoin]

thumb up

 

[FossilDAWG]

13 hours ago, scienceteacher79 said:

Mike thanks for posting this. I have many unidentified gastropods from South Florida, but have hundreds identified. I am new to the forum but have collected FL fossil shells for a decade having lived there for 12 years. If I post some pictures here, could you help ID? Not sure how to send private message or even if it is allowed.

Thanks,

Scott

First off, welcome to the Forum.

It would be preferable for you to start your own thread in the Fossil ID forum.  This thread is one MikeR started to provide a resource for everyone to come to to check their IDs.  If it fills up with pages and pages of people asking "what is this" and "what is that", it would rapidly become overwhelmed and would be useless for MikeR's purpose.  Also, as Coco said if you ask by PM then no-one else will be able to see your specimens and learn from them, or be able to offer suggestions as to their identification.  MikeR is very knowledgeable and quite generous with his time, but it would be rather abusive to inundate him with "many" personal requests to ID specimens.  Keep in mind that the Fossil Forum is not a "free fossil identification service", it is a meeting place where people who are interested in fossils can gather to share information and learn.  We have quite a few very well informed members who can help you, and at least as many who would be anxious to learn from what you have to post.  The way to accomplish this is to use the Fossil ID forum, which was set up for just that purpose.

 

Don

[MikeR]

I have finally completed the photography and uploaded the remaining specimen images of Muricidae from the Tamiami Formation within my collection.  The latest group includes the following subfamilies, genera and species:

 

Order Neogastropoda

     Family Muricidae

          Subfamily Coralliophilinae

               Babelomurex mansfieldi (McGinty, 1940)

          Subfamily Pagodulinae

               Poirieria clarksvillensis (Mansfield, 1937)

          Subfamily Typhinae

               Typhis harrisi (Olsson, 1914)

          Subfamily Rapaninae 

               Stramonita floridiana (Conrad, 1837)

               Ecphora bradleyae Petuch, 1988

               Ecphora quadricostata (Say, 1824)

 

They can be found here Gastropods of the Tamiami Formation

 

Enjoy!

 

Mike

[MikeR]

I have added an additional Gastropod Family to my Tamiami Gallery--Columbellidae, aka the Dove shells.  These snails are algae grazers on sea grasses, seaweed and rocks.  The most notable feature is the aperture and dentition within.  Among individuals of specific species, ribs and spirals can be highly variable to the point that the shape of the shell is more useful for identification.  From the Tamiami Formation in my collection they are as follows:

 

Family Columbellidae

     Alia gardnerae (Olsson & Harbinson, 1953)

     Anachis amydra Dall, 1890

     Columbella mercatoria (Linne, 1758)

     Columbella rusticoides Heilprin, 1886

     Costoanachis caloosaensis (Dall, 1890)

     Costoanachis camax (Dall, 1890)

     Costoanachis clavatula (Olsson & Harbison, 1953)

     Macgintopsis chariessa (McGinty, 1940)

     Sincola gunteri (Mansfield, 1930)

 

Photos can be found with the following link:  Gastropods of the Tamiami Formation

 

Mike

[FossilDAWG]

Thanks Mike!

 

Don

[MikeR]

As I was about to post some revisions to Turbinidae in my Tamiami Gallery, I discovered that I had failed to add Ocenebrinae, the largest subfamily within the Genus Muricidae in the Tamiami.  Although Columbellidae now sits within Muricidae in my gallery, that mistake is now corrected.  The new images are now as follows:

 

Order Neogastropoda

     Family Muricidae

          Subfamily Ocenebrinae

               Eupleura brevispira Mansfield, 1930

               Eupleura calusa Petuch, 1994

               Eupleura intermedia Dall, 1890

               Eupleura metae Petuch, 1994

               Eupleura sulcidentata Dall, 1890

               Pterorytis fluviana (Dall, 1903)

               Pterorytis roxanae Petuch, 1994

               Trossulasalpinx curtus (Dall, 1890)

               Trossulasalpinx hertwecki (Petuch, 1991)

               Trossulasalpinx subsidus (Dall, 1890)

               Vokesinotus lamellosus (Emmons, 1858)

               Vokesinotus lepidotus (Dall, 1890)

               Vokesinotus perrugata (Conrad, 1846)

 

Photos can be found with the following link:  LINK

 

Mike

[FossilDAWG]

Thanks for all this work Mike.      It is a resource that many of us find very useful.

 

Don

[Coco]

I agree ! Thanks Mike.

 

Coco

[MikeR]

I recently revised the family Turbinidae in my Tamiami gastropod gallery by re-identifying one species and adding two additional species.  Family Turbinidae now as follows:

 

Family Turbinidae

          Gelasinostoma elegantula (Dall, 1892)

          Lithopoma phoebium (Roding, 1798)

          Lithopoma tectariaeformis (Petuch, 1986)

          Turbo castanea Gmelin, 1791

          Turbo castanea f. ayersi Olsson, 1967

          Turbo castanea f. crenulata Gmelin, 1791

          Turbo cf. dominicensis Gabb, 1873

          Turbo floridensis Olsson & Harbison, 1953

          Turbo lindae Petuch, 1994

          Turbo wellsi Tucker & Wilson, 1933

          Turbo sp.

 

The new additions can be found at Gastropods of the Tamiami Formation.

 

Mike

[MikeR]

This morning, I uploaded pictures of the Family Pisaniidae.  Formerly within the family Buccinidae, Pisaniidae are opportunistic carnivores of worms and mollusks.  The most diagnostic factor is a distinctive notch at the top of the aperture.  Pisaniidae in my collection within the Tamiami Formation are as follows:

 

Order Neogastropoda

     Family Pisaniidae

          Cantharus sp.

          Gemophos floridensis (Tucker & Wilson, 1932) 

          Gemophos tridentatus (Tuomey & Holmes, 1856)

          Hesperisternia filicata (Conrad, 1843)

          Hesperisternia insula (Olsson, 1922)

          Hesperisternia multangula (Philippi, 1849)

          Monostiolum heatherae Petuch, 1994

          Monostiolum  sp.

          Solenosteira aclinensis Tucker & Wilson, 1933

          Solenosteira vaughani Dall, 1903

          Solenosteira mulepenensis Petuch, 1994

 

Gastropods of the Tamiami Formation

 

Mike

[MikeR]

I found time this weekend to add two additional families to my Tamiami Gastropod gallery.  Melongenidae is a family of large carnivorous snails commonly called crown conchs for the spines along the shoulders.  The Busycons were once classified within this family however later removed for differences in digestive systems and cladistics.

 

Species within Echinofulguridae were once classified as Busycon before given their own family.  The genera completely died out by mid Pleistocene, but it is assumed that their diet consisted of other mollusks much like the Busycons and Melongenids.  The new species within the gallery are as follows:

 

Order Neogastropoda

     Family Melongenidae

          Melongena subcoronata Heilprin, 1886

          Melongena consors (G.B. Sowerby II, 1850) 

          Tropochasca petiti Olsson, 1967

     Family Echinofulguridae

          Echinofulgur echinatum (Dall, 1890)

          Echinofulgur helenae Olsson, 1967

 

Images can be found at the following.

 

Enjoy!

 

Mike

[FossilDAWG]

Thanks Mike.  Another excellent contribution.

 

Don

[minnbuckeye]

More great reference material!!!!!

[MikeR]

The latest addition to my Tamiami Gallery is the Family Buccinidae aka the True Whelks; which are medium to very large, mostly carnivorous gastropods.  The genus Ptychosalpinx although widespread throughout the Pliocene of the SE United States is represented in my Tamiami collection as a single specimen of P. multirugata.  All other representatives of Buccinidae are from the Subfamily Bucyconidae aka the Busycons.  Busycons are mostly confined to North America and have been grouped under various different families such as their own, Busyconidae and Melongenidae.  Presently the World Register of Marine Species WoRMS list Busyconinae under Buccinidae.  Within Busyconinae are Pyruella and Laevisycon (formerly Pyruella) with multiple species found within the Tamiami Formation.  They are highly variable, very common and excessively split.  I have used various characteristics to bin them to a species, however some of these might be extreme variations of one or the other.

 

Within my collection, Buccinidae is as follows:

 

Order Neogastropoda

     Family Buccinidae

          Busycoarctum tropicalis (Petuch, 1994)

          Busycotypus bicoronatum (Tripp, 1988)

          Busycotypus spiratus (Lamarck, 1816)

          Laeviscyon demistriatum (Petuch, 1982)

          Laeviscyon laevis (Petuch, 1982)

          Laeviscyon planulatum (Dall, 1890)

          Ptychosalpinx multirugata (Conrad, 1832)

          Pyruella fredericoae Petuch, 1994

          Pyruella rugosicostata Petuch, 1982

          Pyruella sarasotaensis Petuch, 1982

          Pyruella schmidti Petuch, 1994

          Sinistrofulgur contrarium (Conrad, 1840)

         

The gallery can be found here 

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/profile/1906-miker/

 

Mike

[MikeR]

I have added a new family to my Tamiami gallery; Nassariidae a small to moderate sized family of snails with constricted siphonal canals.  Known commonly as Mud Snails or Dog Whelks, they are primarily scavengers although some can be herbivorous or carnivorous as well.  Buried in mud with their siphon protruding through the substrate, they wait until they smell nearby decaying food.  If you have ever seen a nature show of a dead fish being devoured by a mob of scavenging snails then you have seen Nassa snails.  The list of species below is much greater than what is found in recent North American waters.  Cymatophos, Strombinophos and Calophos are extinct genera and recent members of Ilynassa are now classified as Tritia although the genera is still valid for many of the extinct globular named species found as fossils in Mid-Atlantic shell beds.  These extinct genera have fossil representation on both sides of the Central American Isthmus with modern related species found in tropical Eastern Pacific waters; a text book example of allopatric speciation.

 

Species in my Tamiami collection and pictured in my gallery are as follows:

 

Order Neogastropoda

     Family Nassariidae

          Calophos nannus Petuch, 1994

          Calophos wilsoni Allmon, 1990

          Cymatophos lindae Petuch, 1991

          Ilyanassa floridana M. Smith, 1936

          Nassarius bidentatus (Emmons, 1858)

          Nassarius fargoi Olsson & Harbison, 1953

          Nassarius floridensis Olsson & Harbison, 1953

          Nassarius locklini Olsson & Harbison, 1953

          Nassarius rasta Olsson & Harbison, 1953

          Phrontis vibex (Say, 1822)

          Strombinophos floridanus (Mansfield, 1930)

          Strombinophos vaughani (Mansfield, 1930)

          Trajana pyta Gardner, 1948

 

The gallery of the Tamiami species that I have posted to date can be found in the following link 

 

 

Mike

[MikeR]

Before I post the next gastropod family within the Order Neogastropoda into my Tamiami Gallery, I am adding additions to Orders and Families that I have previously covered.  Most of these are from collecting efforts in the Tamiami from late 2020 to early 2021.  A few are changes to previously listed species, for example changing the photo of Turritella alumensis to T. cf. T. altilira and replacing with true T. alumensis, as well as Siphocypraea mulepensis to S. problematica f. daughenbaughi. 

I am still struggling with quality photos of species under 1 cm, so bear with me as I upgrade equipment to image micros.

The latest additions to my gallery are as follows:

 

Class Gastropoda

     Order Lepetellida

          Family Fissurellidae

               Diodora redimicula (Say, 1824)

     Order Trochida

          Family Skeneidae

               Parviturbo milium (Dall, 1892)

     Order [unassigned] Caenogastropoda

          Family Cerithiidae

               Ochetoclava stena (Woodring, 1928)

          Family Modulidae

               Trochomodulus basileus (Guppy, 1873)

          Family Turritellidae

               Turritella cf. T. altilira Conrad, 1857

               Turritella alumensis Mansfield, 1930

     Order Littorinimorpha

          Family Littorinidae

               Littoraria irrorata (Say, 1822)

          Family Rissoinidae

               Rissoina liriope Olsson & Harbinson, 1953

          Family Cypraeidae

               Siphocypraea problematica f. daughenbaughi Berschauer & Waller, 2020

          Family Eulimidae

               Melanella suavis Olsson & Harbison, 1953

     Order Neogastropoda

          Family Columbellidae

               Alia gardnerae escarinata (Olsson & Harbinson, 1953)            

               Strombina margarita Olsson & Harbinson, 1953        

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Mike

[Shellseeker]

@MikeR

 

Quote

Upper Pliocene ranging from approximately 4.5 to 2.5 million years ago. ...

This may be an aside, but since I am curious and wondered, maybe others would like to know also.

Is it possible for an expert like you, to date a location, like SMR, based on the the shells you find? I was told or read, and I believed that the shells were laid down 3-4 mya and that some of those shells were unique to 3-4 myas. What are a few key dating seashells

Obviously, I have an ulterior motive. If I find the remains of a coral reef on the Peace River river bed, can I date (within a million years) the coral reef by the shells contained ?

Are there books / research papers that discuss this possibility?

[MikeR]

13 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

@MikeR

 

This may be an aside, but since I am curious and wondered, maybe others would like to know also.

Is it possible for an expert like you, to date a location, like SMR, based on the the shells you find? I was told or read, and I believed that the shells were laid down 3-4 mya and that some of those shells were unique to 3-4 myas. What are a few key dating seashells

Obviously, I have an ulterior motive. If I find the remains of a coral reef on the Peace River river bed, can I date (within a million years) the coral reef by the shells contained ?

Are there books / research papers that discuss this possibility?

 

Well Jack, the answer to your question using fossil shells to date deposits is sometimes yes, sometimes no.  When it comes to shell faunas prior to the Plio-Pleistocene in Florida, I would say yes it is.  Oligocene and Miocene molluscan faunas within the state are in general isolated and well characterized.  Even faunas which show similar methods of preservation such as those in the Lower Oligocene Suwanee Limestone and the Upper Oligocene Tampa Member of the Arcadia formation where although some molluscan species overlap, can be distinguished by certain species.  

 

In the Mid-Atlantic states, there are plenty of Neogene deposits that are exposed in rivers that allow easy mapping and interpretation, however in Florida where fossils are mined from the subsurface by draglines which mixes layers, it is many times difficult to tell what is Pliocene and what is Pleistocene.  One can find some shells which are defined specific to the Pliocene and some that are specific to the Pleistocene, but what does one do when the fauna does not match the geology?  In 1992, Thomas Missimer of Florida Gulf Coast University mapped nine different members/facies within the Tamiami and in 2001 mapped Lee County with extensive core data and quarry sections.  Within the latter, he noted no exposure of the  Lower Pleistocene Caloosahatchee Formation any further south than northernmost Lee County and totally absent in Collier County.  Yet within both southern Lee and in the Immokalee area in Collier, I can find species which are said to be specific to the Caloosahatchee.  The Pinecrest Member found in the Sarasota area is derived from various different environments, but in general is a sandy marine facies, while the Golden Gate Member is a warm-water carbonate patch reef.  The Caloosahatchee is also carbonate, so are these Lower Pleistocene-like faunas patchy Caloosahatchee so small as to not be detected within cores or are did they originate within the carbonate facies of the Tamiami? I had myself convinced of the latter until earlier this year where draglines in a quarry that I collect within extreme southern Lee County, was bringing up a distinctly Caloosahatchean fauna.  Add to this, taxonomic "noise" from extensive splitting of Plio-Pleistocene gastropods based on unaccepted stratigraphy of mixed layers, I would say the Plio-Pleistocene in Florida can't reliably be used.

 

Mike

[MikeR]

When I posted images yesterday, I accidentally left out one species Schwartiziella floridana from the Family Rissoinidae.  Now corrected that family is represented as follows:

 

  Order Littorinimorpha

          Family Rissoinidae

               Rissoina liriope Olsson & Harbinson, 1953

               Schwartizella foridana Olsson & Harbinson, 1953

Edited July 31, 2021 by MikeR

[Shellseeker]

3 hours ago, MikeR said:

 

Well Jack, the answer to your question using fossil shells to date deposits is sometimes yes, sometimes no.  When it comes to shell faunas prior to the Plio-Pleistocene in Florida, I would say yes it is.  Oligocene and Miocene molluscan faunas within the state are in general isolated and well characterized.  Even faunas which show similar methods of preservation such as those in the Lower Oligocene Suwanee Limestone and the Upper Oligocene Tampa Member of the Arcadia formation where although some molluscan species overlap, can be distinguished by certain species.  

 

In the Mid-Atlantic states, there are plenty of Neogene deposits that are exposed in rivers that allow easy mapping and interpretation, however in Florida where fossils are mined from the subsurface by draglines which mixes layers, it is many times difficult to tell what is Pliocene and what is Pleistocene.  One can find some shells which are defined specific to the Pliocene and some that are specific to the Pleistocene, but what does one do when the fauna does not match the geology?  In 1992, Thomas Missimer of Florida Gulf Coast University mapped nine different members/facies within the Tamiami and in 2001 mapped Lee County with extensive core data and quarry sections.  Within the latter, he noted no exposure of the  Lower Pleistocene Caloosahatchee Formation any further south than northernmost Lee County and totally absent in Collier County.  Yet within both southern Lee and in the Immokalee area in Collier, I can find species which are said to be specific to the Caloosahatchee.  The Pinecrest Member found in the Sarasota area is derived from various different environments, but in general is a sandy marine facies, while the Golden Gate Member is a warm-water carbonate patch reef.  The Caloosahatchee is also carbonate, so are these Lower Pleistocene-like faunas patchy Caloosahatchee so small as to not be detected within cores or are did they originate within the carbonate facies of the Tamiami? I had myself convinced of the latter until earlier this year where draglines in a quarry that I collect within extreme southern Lee County, was bringing up a distinctly Caloosahatchean fauna.  Add to this, taxonomic "noise" from extensive splitting of Plio-Pleistocene gastropods based on unaccepted stratigraphy of mixed layers, I would say the Plio-Pleistocene in Florida can't reliably be used.

 

Mike

 

Thanks, Mike I'll take a while to parse and understand some of the nuances, but this gives me some understanding. I'll pay more attention to the layers in the high walls of SMR if I ever get back there. Sometime , I wish I had taken photographs of the walls but collecting as many unusual shells as possible was tempting.. Being able to recognize Miocene layers would be a good first step.

 

I was considering areas that might be easier , some areas that are isolated and well characterized.

Shell layers of 1-3 feet eroding from the bank of a river/creek running 50-75 feet along the bank. 

A hole dug down 20-25 feet to the bedrock, with a 2 foot wide shell layer 6-7 feet up and the best place to hunt for Megs immediately above the shell layer. Pleistocene layers with mammal fossil seem to start at 12-13 feet.

A wide area of coral reef in the bottom of the Peace River with embedded and usually broken Barnacles, Echinoids, Shells.

 

Once again thanks for the response.   Jack

 

[MikeR]

I just placed a single addition to my Tamiami gallery from an order I have already pictured as follows:

 

Order Littorinimorpha

     Family Tornidae

          Cyclostremiscus trilix (Bush, 1883)
 

I am finding that I have to go microscopic to find new species for the list.

 

Mike

Edited August 8, 2021 by MikeR