3.35" Pliocene Aged, Fossil Gastropod With Barnacles - Virginia

This is a 3.35" long pliocene snail from the species, Ecphora gardnerae. It was a predatory, marine gastropod that is indigenous to the North American Eastern Seaboard. This species is found in marine strata aging from the Late Eocene to the time of the mollusk's extinction during the Pliocene. Many Ecphora species are important index fossils and are also the state fossil of Maryland. This shell was found in association with the barnacle species, Balanus concavus.