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A Little Florida Fossil Shell Collecting


Nimravis

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While in Florida I have been doing some fossil shell collecting, I really do love collecting these shells, the diversity is great. I do like finding large and small shells, but the smallest are always my favorite as the quality is usually exceptional. In this post I will show a few pics after I found some of the “regular” size shells and then my haphazard attempt at trying to identify some. Please do not take my ID’s as truth- though I love collecting these shells, I am really bad at getting the ID’s correct. There are a lot of shells that I do not have any ID for and I did not attempt to guess like I did on the others. Some of the specimens that I took pictures of are not the greatest and I have since found better ones, but since I already took the pics, I did not update. I did not take any individual pictures of the smallest pieces, but believe me, some are really small.

 

6D2DA799-BCAB-4F73-A744-E3A37C1A8213.jpeg.f1dff2591476f106764b4eb1d995df88.jpeg

 

My favorite find so far- the colors are phenomenal and the  glossiness is just crazy- because of this, I thought is might have been a Lindoliva spengleri, but I do not think it is large enough. I believe it is Oliva sayana, and again it is my favorite find.

 

62B96291-0A52-4960-B316-6D7251810923.jpeg.f820f6e4b3f1e3c260d8bba0bc9fe755.jpeg9987EA82-0F25-4A67-877E-473B57879A42.jpeg.1be1b280ed75ad8adf2fd139826f472c.jpeg

 

Here are a couple other pics after I picked some up.

 

451D30D7-C9D3-4ECA-81A7-1D2D42002B40.jpeg.a2782a9bfa8bdaf4ec1528a291c0cdef.jpegE32B020F-57B6-4C83-8D7D-3E28038D51AB.jpeg.9386b9f114f2c4d97f3d4465e9689850.jpegF78D04B0-4418-407F-80D9-5B272C1BEF2D.jpeg.fa682d994d68e76fc1ff988977e944bd.jpeg4A04D024-727B-48E0-88C2-144E4ECFA732.jpeg.45915ecb2b83c06e3c45e423cd91b932.jpeg3708C8A5-09A4-4A92-BE38-CDC25EFB9AC6.jpeg.cc874de99719b24de4a102b8b2ffbd0b.jpegDF3960F3-233C-4590-B20D-0A385FA3A7D3.jpeg.2a5386b717cee0d31b3fa260824caa83.jpeg3FFB7A66-D2E2-40D2-80C1-66FB40025067.jpeg.e585a631f647869e0ab498bc1c87fb69.jpeg671B8ADB-D821-47A6-B4F4-07FEB83EBFCB.jpeg.71be48b3c9a1d728194acfe6039b9165.jpeg

 

Now i will start with my attempt to ID some of my finds- this will take a few posts since there are a lot of different ones.

 

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Hi,

 

:wub:

 

Coco

----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

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Holy Moly, Ralph! What a great, diverse collection! Congratulations  on a awesome haul!

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Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Nice haul, Ralph!  I especially like the gastropod encrusted by the coral - beautiful! :wub:

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@Nimravis, many thanks for sharing these beautiful shells with us!

Some points :D:

- Its amazing, how similar they are to the miocene Paratethys mollusc fauna here in ol´ central Europe. But species, even most genera, are different, though.

- Your small ones are the lager ones in my area... :drool:.

- My favorte is clearly Nr. 69.

- Would you like to provide a little bit of background? Which formation, how did you collect them (natural outcrop, quarry, beach, river...).

- @Max-fossils, don´t miss these... ;).

Many thanks again!

Franz Bernhard

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I went out for a 3 mile walk on Sanibel Island to watch the sunrise this morning and I decided to check along a road that has fossil shells. Last year or the year before, about 1 block away, I found a rare shell and I was lucky enough to find another one today.

 

First a pic of the sunrise-

 

2A8F2D2D-4978-4A4B-94D0-6FC21E6E8F63.jpeg.6a0d67a1da49aa4d9085eff3b12d4269.jpeg

 

This the second time that I have found this type of shell below and I never found the two that are after it- all found this morning.

 

7B88FFB7-B817-4CA5-BB1E-C778B76A2EC1.jpeg.08222eb49f5a525aa986fd2756c42786.jpeg

 

639C530F-88C1-4EAF-A740-B80D7A2D68B7.jpeg.96c7de37983b685e6b87e92a59098e0b.jpeg

 

B17DA3AD-DDF9-4429-AAE3-AE0102ECE4C7.jpeg.cebb85da15757c52a904e17835fddba5.jpeg

 

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54 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said:

Would you like to provide a little bit of background? Which formation, how did you collect them (natural outcrop, quarry, beach, river...).

One of the fossil shell experts would have better info, but I believe all of these shells are Pliocene-Pleistocene from the Caloosahatchee Formation. I collected these from “fill” used by some hotels for walkways, and a construction site farther North that I had permission to collect in and along the Sanibel Causeway. Years ago I was able to get into a quarry near Arcadia, but that is no longer possible. That quarry was outstanding for fossils, I just wished then that I spent more time collecting the smaller shells 1 cm and under. Again, I did not post many of those unless it was the only size I had.

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You really got a terrific diversity of gastropods and bivalves (and a few corals). @MikeR could speak more authoritatively on the identifications you've made above. If you want to make changes to the names on the numbered photos above but the time limit for editing has run out (which it will in time), PM me with replacement images labeled correctly and I can substitute the updated images for you. :)

 

I generically call the shelly formations in Florida either the Caloosahatchee (which is probably overly specific) or how they appear on the geological maps TQsu (Tertiary-Quaternary shelly units). Again, Mike could likely speak to in-place formations. For the shelly fill used as road bedding here in Florida, you would have to have an idea of the source quarry to be more certain. This may be of some help to you in terms of understanding Florida's geology:

 

https://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/fips-unit.php?state=FL

 

Hope you wrap everything well for the trip back home. ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Gorgeous fossil shells! Thanks for sharing!

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Fossil hunting from dawn til' dusk!

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How marvelous! :)

What an incredible amount of species and such a range in size. Some of those are huge. And the detail is extraordinary. 

I also like 69 the best. 

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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Digit, interesting link. Could a formation contains several groups ? I try to understand the american geological words.

 

Coco

----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

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8 minutes ago, Coco said:

I try to understand the american geological words.

From the little I know your confusion may be well founded. I believe terms like "formation" are not always strictly applied. :wacko:

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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14 minutes ago, Coco said:

Digit, interesting link. Could a formation contains several groups ? I try to understand the american geological words.

 

Coco

Ken is right and also a formation can consist of several 'Members'; smaller units within the formation. 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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OK, thanks to you both :)

 

Coco

----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

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Nice collection!! You have many specimens that I have not found YET. 

 

Mike

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Amazing assortment of shells! :wub:

Are you sure these are from the Caloosahatchee?  They seem to have a Tamiami Formation/Pinecrest Beds aspect, and the SMR quarries were pretty close by  and could have been a source.  I guess the question could be decided by IDing some formation-specific species.  As always when it comes to Pliocene/Pleistocene shells, @MikeR would be the one to look to for an authoritative opinion.

 

Don

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9 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

Amazing assortment of shells! :wub:

Are you sure these are from the Caloosahatchee?  They seem to have a Tamiami Formation/Pinecrest Beds aspect, and the SMR quarries were pretty close by  and could have been a source.  I guess the question could be decided by IDing some formation-specific species.  As always when it comes to Pliocene/Pleistocene shells, @MikeR would be the one to look to for an authoritative opinion.

 

Don

Don I really took a shot in the dark at the formation, but I am enjoying myself collecting them.

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4 hours ago, Nimravis said:

Don I really took a shot in the dark at the formation, but I am enjoying myself collecting them.

Collect first--learn later. That's my motto. ;)

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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