Maryland: Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae (state fossil)

Maryland has a diverse fossil record, and is one of two states which have designated both a state fossil and a state dinosaur. The state fossil is a small snail, known to science as Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae.

This snail inhabited the coastal waters of the state during the Miocene Epoch, from 5 - 12 million years ago. Most gastropods (snails) are herbivorous, but some, including Ecphora, are predatory, boring holes in the shells of clams and other prey to feed on the animal inside. Sometimes clam shells (both fossil and modern) are found showing these boreholes.

Species of the genus Ecphora first appear during the Oligocene, and change over time, making them valuable as index fossils used in dating sedimentary layers. All Ecphora species went extinct at the close of the Pliocene, around 2 million years ago. Many scientists believe the global cooling leading up to the Ice Ages, which affected the oceans as well as the land, led to the demise of these snails.

Ecphora bears the distinction of having been one of the first fossils to be illustrated in a scientific publication, appearing in Martin Lister's 1770 Historiae Conchyliorum. Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae itself, however, was not named scientifically until 1987.

In 1984, the Maryland General Assembly named Ecphora quadricostata (as this snail was formerly known) the state fossil. After E. quadricostata and E. gardnerae were recognized as separate species, the legislature passed Chapter 688, Section 13-311 on October 1, 1994, designating Ecphora gardnerae, subspecies gardnerae, the state fossil.

For further information:

Maryland symbols

Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell