Gastropod
Ecphora
Maryland state fossil
Ecphora is the Miocene–Pliocene muricid snail with four (or more) prominent T-shaped spiral ribs, found at Calvert Cliffs and Lee Creek, and Maryland's state fossil (E. gardnerae). Complete Ecphora are fragile and uncommon on the beach; Lee Creek Yorktown specimens are the finest. It was the first North American fossil figured in a scientific work (1770).
| Phylum | Mollusca |
|---|---|
| Class | Gastropoda |
| Order | Neogastropoda |
| Family | Muricidae |
| Group | Gastropod |
| Rank (PBDB) | genus· Paleobiology Database |
| Author | Conrad 1843· Paleobiology Database |
| Classification (PBDB) | Mollusca › Gastropoda › Neogastropoda › Muricidae· Paleobiology Database |
| Range (PBDB) | 83.6–2.58 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| PBDB occurrences | 129· Paleobiology Database |
Photographs
Elsewhere
- PBDB: 11052
- Wikidata: Q3784887
- PBDB taxon page
- Wikipedia: Ecphora
- PBDB search: Ecphora
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Ecphora" (Taxon). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/taxa/ecphora. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-ecphora,
title = {Ecphora},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/taxa/ecphora}},
year = {2026},
note = {Taxon article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, pbdb, wikidata, commons, smithsonian, nhm. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.