MikeR's Fossil Gastropods

[Al Dente]

Mike- nice collection. What is the smallest size range that you routinely search and identify? Do you search for Caecum shells and other micro gastropods in your material?

[MikeR]

5 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Mike- nice collection. What is the smallest size range that you routinely search and identify? Do you search for Caecum shells and other micro gastropods in your material?

 

Hi Eric

 

I have a sink in the back of my house where I wash shells and sediment.  It is just large enough to hold a milk crate with half inch screen and I set that on window screen.  I search and collect whatever I can see of the smaller sorted material with a magnifier.  Usually 5 mm, but sometimes smaller and that includes Caecum.

 

Mike

 

[MikeR]

Pliocene Drawer 11: Terebridae, Drilliidae, Turridae and related families, Bullidae, and Architectonicidae.

 

[MikeR]

Fossil gastropods too large to fit in my drawers; three-quarters of which are Pliocene or Pleistocene.

 

[MikeR]

My Miocene fossil gastropod drawers are organized differently than the Pleistocene and Pliocene collection.  Where the Plio-Pleistocene share species between formations within a large geographical area, the emphasis of my Miocene collection, the Chesapeake Group in Maryland and Virginia and the Alum Bluff Group in the Florida Panhandle, bear very little if any resemblance.  As a result the Miocene drawers are separated based upon region as opposed to taxonomy.  

 

Miocene Drawer 1 is composed of the Upper Miocene (Tortonian) gastropods from the St. Marys Formation of Maryland and the Eastover Formation of Virginia.

 

[MikeR]

Miocene Drawer 2 consists of the Lower and Middle Miocene of the Mid-Atlantic States and include Burdigalian Calvert (Maryland) and Purgo River (North Carolina) Formations and the Serravallian Choptank Formation of Maryland.

 

[MikeR]

The next three drawers of Miocene gastropods feature species from Florida formations as follows:

 

Middle (Serravallian)

Shoal River

 

Lower (Burdigalian)

Chipola

Oak Grove

Torreya

 

The Chipola Formation is exceptionally rich with an estimated 1000 different species, second only to the Tamiami within the US southern shell beds.  All are found only within the Florida panhandle with the Torreya Formation also outcropping into nearby Georgia.  As I have around 15 gallons of unprepped Chipola sediment and 5 gallons of Torreya, I expected to expand these drawers when I get around to prepping and cataloging.

 

Miocene Drawer 3 features the Florida Miocene families Fissurellidae, Calliostomidae, Turbinidae, Turritellidae, Cerithiidae, Potamididae, Epitoniidae, Strombidae, Cassidae, and Ficidae.

 

 

 

[MikeR]

Miocene Drawer 4:  Florida families Naticidae, Cypraeidae, Turbinellidae, Bullidae, and Architectonicidae.

 

[Coco]

You’ll think I’m very curious, but what do you have in your little bags? I see them in every drawer I think.

 

If I may make a small comment: when I magnify the image I have more and more difficulty reading the labels

 

Coco

[MikeR]

Miocene Drawer 5: Muricidae, Harpidae, Buccinidae, Melongenidae, Fasciolariidae, Columbellidae, Nassariidae, and Marginellidae.

 

[MikeR]

16 hours ago, Coco said:

You’ll think I’m very curious, but what do you have in your little bags? I see them in every drawer I think.

 

If I may make a small comment: when I magnify the image I have more and more difficulty reading the labels

 

Coco

 

Hi Coco

 

The bags contain micros, typically those gastropods 5 mm and less.  Unfortunately I am limited to the resolution of my iPhone 8 camera.

 

Mike

[Coco]

OK, I understand. I love your drawers !

 

Coco

[MikeR]

Miocene Drawer 6: Florida families Conidae, Terebridae, Cancellariidae, Volutidae, Olividae, and Drillidae/Turridae/related.

 

[MikeR]

Oligocene Drawer 1: Upper Oligocene (Chattian) from the Southeastern United States. Chattian deposits in this region are not extensive and very spotty in occurrence. My collection is represented by internal casts from the River Bend Formation (North Carolina), silica pseudomorphs from the Tampa Member of the Arcadia Formation (Florida) and original shell from the Haywood Landing Member of the Belgrade Formation (North Carolina). By far, the best preservation is in the Haywood Landing Member and as I have over 10 gallons of unprocessed very shelly matrix, I hope to expand this drawer in the near future.

[MikeR]

Oligocene Drawer 2: Lower Oligocene (Rupelian) of the Southeastern United States. Unlike the Chattian Stage, the Rupelian has a wide distribution within the Southeast. Mostly classified under the Vicksburg Group, in the western part of its range within Mississippi, the preservation is original aragonite and bears strong resemblance to European faunas. My collecting efforts have been in the eastern range of the Rupelian where warm waters formed limestone, but preserved mollusks as molds and casts. Included within this drawer are silica pseudomorphs from the Suwannee Formation (Florida) and the Undifferential Residuum (Georgia) and internal casts from the Bridgeboro Formation (Georgia).

 

[Wrangellian]

Nice organization. An organized drawer is a thing of beauty.

I started to take pics of my drawers but only got so far. Mine are not quite so well organized as it's mainly a case of storing things where I can find room, but the day of reckoning is coming when I cull out duplicates from my local stuff and then get it more organized and presentable.

[MikeR]

Eocene Drawer 1:  Upper Eocene (Priabonian) of the Southeastern United States.  Extensive deposits of Priabonian limestone exists within the Southeast and as with the Rupelian deposits is primarily moldic typical of limestone.  Mostly know for echinoids, mollusks and corals are also common.  Formations within this drawer are Upper and Lower Ocala (Florida), Pachuta (Alabama), and Tivola (Georgia).  I have over 45 gallons of unprepped Priabonian material which should fill up this drawer.

 

[MikeR]

The next three drawers are of gastropods from Lower Upper Eocene (Bartonian) deposits in the Southeastern United States.  These deposits are famous for the degree of preservation and include the following Formations:  Gosport Sand and Lisbon (Alabama) and Stone City (Texas) of the Claiborne Group and Moodys Branch (Alabama) of the Jackson Group.  The Moodys Branch Formation in Mississippi are as well preserved as the Claiborne material but in Alabama it is primarily moldic.  I am hoping in the future to collect the better preserved material from the western exposures.  Also with over 20 gallons of unprepped Alabama Claiborne sediment, I hope to expand these drawers.

 

Eocene Drawer 2:  Bartonian US gastropod Subclasses Vetigastropoda and Caenogastropoda.

 

[MikeR]

Eocene Drawer 3:  Bartonian US gastropod Families Buccinidae, Fasciolariidae, Nassariidae, Columbellidae, Melongenidae, Marginellidae, and Olividae.

 

[MikeR]

Eocene Drawer 4:  Bartonian gastropods of the Southeastern United States, Families Cancellariidae, Volutidae, Terebridae, Drillidae/Turritellidae/allied, Architectonicidae, Bullidae, and Acteonidae.

 

[MikeR]

Eocene Drawer 5: Middle (Lutetian) and Lower (Ypresian) Eocene of the Southeastern United States. The moldic Lutetian in the rear of the drawer are from the Tallahata (Alabama) and the Castle Hayne (North Carolina) Formations while the Ypresian in the front are from the Hatchetigbee (Alabama) and Bashi (Alabama and Mississippi) Formations. As I have around 10 gallons each of both Castle Hayne and Bashi that I have yet to prep, I expect to expand both ages eventually into their own drawers.

 

[MikeR]

Paleocene Drawer 1: Upper (Thanetian) and Lower (Danian) Paleocene of the Southeastern United States. The moldic Danian in the rear of the drawer are from the Clayton and the Porters Creek Formations in Alabama.  The Thanetian shells in front are from the Tuscahoma (Alabama) and Aquia (Virginia) Formations.  I am presently working additional Tuscahoma sediment which should move it to its own drawer.

 

[MikeR]

The next two drawers are devoted to Upper and Lower Cretaceous, however as heavily as I have collected it, most of it remains unprepared so I will show it at a later date.  The next drawer is from non-USA countries along the Western Atlantic and include the following:

 

Pleistocene

Uruguay

Jamaica

 

Pliocene

Ecuador

Dominican Republic

 

Miocene

Dominican Republic

Panama

Venezuela

 

Oligocene

Argentina

 

Eocene

Argentine Antarctica (plastic casts from limestone molds).

 

[MikeR]

The next six drawers are composed of fossil gastropods from Eastern Pacific North America.  The first three of these are Pleistocene from the following formations:

 

Upper Pleistocene

Palos Verdes (California)

Bay Point (California)

Older Alluvium (California) 

Mulege (Baja Sur, Mexico)

 

Middle Pleistocene

Timms Point Silt (California) 

Lomita Marl (California) 

 

Lower Pleistocene

Santa Barbara (California)

 

Eastern Pacific Drawer 1:  Subclasses Vetigastropoda and Caenogastropoda.

 

[MikeR]

Eastern Pacific Pleistocene Drawer 2:  Families Calyptraeidae, Vermetidate, Muricidae, Melongenidae, Buccinidae, and Nassariidae.