Trip up the Caloosahatchee near Ft Myers, FL

[dalmayshun]

The friend I fossil hunt with knows I had a desire for a large scallop, so 2 weeks ago we went looking along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. Although the river level is controled by the corps of engineers and has much less fluctuation than the Peace River, it was a bit low...fortunately for us. These are some of my favorite finds. We spent about half a day in our kayaks checking out the banks, and digging here and there. Although I found several nice shells simply lying on the bottom sand. Besides these I found several nice pieces of turtle, several other shells to add to my collection and some nice coral. My friend found a nice lion's paw with top and bottom, entact...a first for us. We had gorgeous weather and plan to go again soon...nothing like the 4 degree weather my relatives are having in Wisconsin. I believe the murex is a gibbosus, unsure of the scallop

[Darktooth]

Beautiful shells!

[Yvie]

Wow a whole scallop.

[Jeffrey P]

Those shells are exquisite. Really nice finds. Congratulations and thanks for showing them.  

[Kdeus]

Beautiful! Great finds!

[Plantguy]

Hey Rod, nice to see the latest finds. Big shells can be alluring--I know a couple screamed at me in the last several months to get picked up...dang them. LOL! Is that all Tamiami Fm. stuff or the other Plio-Pleistocene material? Thanks for showing us. Regards, Chris 

[CBOB]

Nice shells!  I have to say my favorite kind of fossil hunting day is with a kayak.  Nothing beats paddling on the water in the search for fossils!

[Shellseeker]

Fantastic shells.  The 1st may be Chicoreus florifer, a Lace Murex. I have gone once in a kayak up to Alva.. I got swamped by waves from huge pleasure boats.

Did not find a lot but a couple of Bull Shark and one Mako kept me happy

 

I may get the urge to go back... Few finds but absolutely pristine.   SS

[dalmayshun]

They are Pinecrest formation I have been told, I did go back this past weekend, and in digging out a pristine strombus, this dropped out of the sand bank...I am sorry it doesn't include a sight measurement, but it is about 4 " across...  I had been digging at a distance from the strombus so as not to damage it, I couldn't believe I didn't damage this. It had been completely hidden, and is the clearest, sharpest edge Lion's Paw I have seen. I am still trembling....LOL 

[Shellseeker]

Fantastic seashell.  I just enjoy looking at it. I know the feeling of finding one... Mine is 4.5 inches down the centerline and 2-3 mya from SMR

 

[typhis]

The murex is a small Phyllonotus globosus. Chicoreus florifer is a Recent species; it's closest corollary in the Fla fossil record is C. dilectus, found in the Bermont Fm. [EDIT: Seems some experts now synonymize florifer & dilectus, but you'll see the latter name used in most fossil lit such as Vokes' work, etc.] I've only collected the Caloosahatchee river banks once, 25 years ago. Only found small junk from (presumably) Ft Thompson Fm. These shells are nice!

[Coco]

I love the first one and ... the last one is marvelous ! Is someone knows its name ?

 

Coco

[doushantuo]

Nodipecten nodosus,I believe

e.g.

[Coco]

Ah yes, thanks Doushantuo.

 

Coco

[Shellseeker]

11 hours ago, typhis said:

The murex is a small Phyllonotus globosus. Chicoreus florifer is a Recent species; it's closest corollary in the Fla fossil record is C. dilectus, found in the Bermont Fm. [EDIT: Seems some experts now synonymize florifer & dilectus, but you'll see the latter name used in most fossil lit such as Vokes' work, etc.] I've only collected the Caloosahatchee river banks once, 25 years ago. Only found small junk from (presumably) Ft Thompson Fm. These shells are nice!

I am detecting true expertise. Thanks for sharing it.  I have collected a lot of modern lace murex and (now I believe) many Phyllonotus globosus from places like SMR in Sarasota and did not have the skills to differentiate.  Jack

[doushantuo]

by a big name

spiny

closer to home

nb :last one is 33mb 

But:perhaps worth your time if you collect in those states

[Coco]

Hi,

 

Thanks for these publications.

 

Coco

[dalmayshun]

thanks everyone for the compliments, as well as the id's. On my second trip when I found the Lion's Paw, I also found another Globosus, about 1/2 again larger than the first I found, and without any broken spines also. They are beautiful. thanks typhis and dousantuo, I appreciate the id's. Typhis, when I was figuring out the murex, I did come across discussions of name changes...frustrating to me as a new collector. The authors advocating for the changes don't seem to explain why, at least in terms that I understand. So thanks for your help. And Shellseeker, yes, the really big boats are terrible. They suck the water from the bank, and toss kayaks all over... fortunately most of them slow down when they see us...when we see them coming, we head to shore, and get out of the kayak  to hold its prow toward the incoming waves... so far we have survived. LOL. And the trip has been worthwhile for us. We have collected in 5 different locations recently, at one side my friend and I collected 12 strombus leidyi. this last image is the strombus I was digging out of the bank...it actually hasn't been cleaned yet. We found several in the bank, at the waterline, and several in the water as well. All in all it was quite a trip as you can tell. 

[MikeR]

Your shells are not Tamiami but Lower Pleistocene Caloosahatchee Formation.  The strombid is Lobatus leidyi.  The double-valved pecten is Carolinapecten eboreus solaroides.

[dalmayshun]

Thanks for the ID for me. Could you also tell me why the correct way of referring to the leidyi is a Lobatus rather than a Strombus...I have seen both used and I know one is a further division of the other, for example the Carolinapecten eboreus solaroides uses three names...why do some use one, others two, and yet others three.   Remember please, I am quite new to all of this and don't quite understand the nomenclature use. I would appreciate you clarifying it for me. ( for MikeR, or anyone else with more knowledge than myself)

[dalmayshun]

In trying to figure this out, I read about the Caloosahatchee Fauna, and in my research read that this stratotype section along the river was at the extreme northern end of the deposited material, and that the beds are relatively thin representing an intertidal - shallow water sand bottom type with appropriate sand dwelling genera. Only further south do the sediments grow deeper...yet my shells were dug out from the interspaces of a huge branching coral, and it was not the only coral I found that day...I saw several large...3-4 feet corals of a couple of types. Again, can someone clarify this for me as well. I realize I am moving from simply finding fossils, to learning more geology, but I know there are lots of people out there with the knowledge. 

[MikeR]

5 hours ago, dalmayshun said:

Thanks for the ID for me. Could you also tell me why the correct way of referring to the leidyi is a Lobatus rather than a Strombus...I have seen both used and I know one is a further division of the other, for example the Carolinapecten eboreus solaroides uses three names...why do some use one, others two, and yet others three.   Remember please, I am quite new to all of this and don't quite understand the nomenclature use. I would appreciate you clarifying it for me. ( for MikeR, or anyone else with more knowledge than myself)

 

Most New World Large Strombids are classified as Lobatus.  The use of internet tools such as Stromboidea, WoRMS, and The Neogene Atlas of Ancient Life can help keep the systematics updated.  The third name in Carolinapecten eboreus is subspecies solaroides.  C. eboreus is a long ranging species Upper Miocene to Upper Pleistocene but shows some variation in specific deposits.  Subspecies solaroides is known primarily for its large size, the raised growth rings within the rib interspaces and is mostly confined to Lower Pleistocene Calabrian deposits such as the Caloosahatchee in Florida and the Waccamaw in the Carolinas.  The use of subspecies can sometimes be contentious based upon whether a researcher is a taxonomic lumper or splitter.  One extreme recognizes any variation as a specific i.e. Carolinapecten solaroides while the other end of the spectrum does not recognize subspecies i.e. Carolinapecten eboreus.  I like to use subspecies as the description of a variant particularly when isolated within a specific unit or time.

 

Mike

[dalmayshun]

thanks so very much