This is a well-preserved, three-dimensional fossil snail shells from the late Cenozoic of America.
Phyllonotus fossil muricid snail shell (5.8 cm tall) - abapertural view.
Stratigraphy & age: Fort Thompson Formation, Pleistocene
Locality: Largo, Gulf Coast of Florida, USA
This is a well-preserved, three-dimensional fossil snail shells from the late Cenozoic of America.
Phyllonotus fossil muricid snail shell (5.8 cm tall) - apertural view.
Stratigraphy & age: Fort Thompson Formation, Pleistocene
Locality: Largo, Gulf Coast of Florida, USA
Coquinoid quartzose sandstone matrix of geodized Busycon snail shell shown in the other Busycon photo (bottom surface of rock, 8.4 cm across).
This specimen comes from the Anastasia Formation (Upper Pleistocene to lower Holocene, ~126 k.y. to ~8 k.y.) from the Indrio Pit on the northern side of the town of Fort Pierce, southeastern Florida, USA.
The matrix surrounding the large snail shell is a coquinoid quartzose sandstone having abundant whole bivalve shells (see pic below). Florida’s Anastasia Formation is well known for having true coquina beds.
Classification of Busycon: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Neogastropoda, Muricoidea, Melongenidae
Tags: coquinoid sandstone coquina Anastasia Formation Florida
Busycon snail shell geode with yellowish calcite crystal lining. Entire rock specimen is 11 cm across.
This specimen comes from the Anastasia Formation (Upper Pleistocene to lower Holocene, ~126 k.y. to ~8 k.y.) from the Indrio Pit on the northern side of the town of Fort Pierce, southeastern Florida, USA.
The matrix surrounding the large snail shell is a coquinoid quartzose sandstone having abundant whole bivalve shells (see pic below). Florida’s Anastasia Formation is well known for having true coquina beds.
Classification of Busycon: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Neogastropoda, Muricoidea, Melongenidae
Tags: geodized Busycon fossil snail Indrio Pit Florida geode calcite Anastasia Formation
Coquina is a distinctive variety of fossiliferous limestone. Coquina is composed of finely-busted up seashells, typically clam shells & snail shells (bivalves & gastropods). Coquinas have high porosity, that is a significant amount of empty space between the grains. This results in coquina having a “spongy” appearance. As are all limestones, coquinas are composed of calcite (CaCO3) and they bubble in acid.
Coquina had military significance in early American history. Some military forts in Florida were constructed with coquina walls. The coquina “sucked up” cannonballs that were shot at forts. Coquina is a fairly common sedimentary rock in the Pleistocene of southeastern America (e.g., Florida).
Tags: coquina fossiliferous limestone Quaternary Anastasia Formation Florida