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Spondylus rotundatus

Geological Range

Late Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene; Extinct.

Paleogeographic Distribution

Southern Florida to northern Florida.

Remarks

Original Description (from Heilprin, 1886, p. 99):

"Shell (known only by the larger valve) capacious, orbicular below the hinge-line, distinctly auriculated; hinge-line triangular, pyramidal, the beak acute, laterally twisted at the apex, traversed by a median slit; cartilage-pit profound, reaching about half-way to the apex; cardinal teeth powerful, slightly spreading; external surface coarsely ornamented with irregular squamous ribs and intermediate scaly fine lines, the (imbricated) scales on the latter drawn out into flattened spines or echinations.

Height to apex, 3.5 inches; greatest width, 2.5 inches.

A solitary, perfectly preserved valve from the banks below Fort Thompson.

This species is quite distinct from any form, either recent or fossil, with which I am acquainted."

Stratigraphic Occurrences

Middle Pleistocene
Bermont Formation (S. FL)
Early Pleistocene
Caloosahatchee Formation (S. FL)
Late Pliocene
Jackson Bluff Formation (N. FL)
Tamiami Formation (Pinecrest Beds) (S. FL)
<i>Spondylus rotundatus</i> from the Plio-Pleistocene (formation unknown) of Sarasota County, Florida (UF 34942).
Spondylus rotundatus from the Plio-Pleistocene (formation unknown) of Sarasota County, Florida (UF 34942).
Specimen of <i>Spondylus rotundatus</i> figured by Heilprin (1886, pl. 14, fig. 33); 3.5 in. in length.
Specimen of Spondylus rotundatus figured by Heilprin (1886, pl. 14, fig. 33); 3.5 in. in length.
Middle Pleistocene Map
Middle Pleistocene Map
Early Pleistocene Map
Early Pleistocene Map
Late Pliocene Map
Late Pliocene Map