fossils – Broward Shell Club

Our program for October will be Dr. Ed Petuch. Ed recently retired from teaching Geology at Florida Atlantic University. Ed has written over 22 books mainly on the mollusks of Florida and the Caribbean. He is an expert on both Recent and Fossil Shells and named over 1200 mollusks both recent and fossil

Long known by many of the members of the Broward Shell Club, since he was a graduate student at the University of Miami, last year Ed donated many books from his library to the club. Ed has had a close relationship to many of our club members, naming many species of shells for both Alice and Bob Pace, Kevan and Linda Sunderland, Lynda Zylman and myself including others.
He is an expert on both Recent and Fossil shells. He has named over 1200 species of mollusks.

Ed is one of the most vibrant speakers you will ever hear and I know this program will be amazing. He will be presenting “Jewels of the Everglades: The Fossil Cowries of Southern Florida”—-

“The cowrie shells of Pliocene and Pleistocene Florida represent the single largest evolutionary explosion of cypraeids found anywhere on Earth. To date, 105 species of fossil cowries have been found in our local quarries and shell pits, including some of the rarest and most beautiful fossils known from anywhere in the world. Because of the special geology of the Everglades area, our fossil cowries are also the best-preserved in the world, often having the original shine and color pattern. With the exception of two species that are known from the fossil beds of the Carolinas, all the other cowries are found only in southern Florida, making these shells the most desirable fossils in our local area. Specimens of several of the largest and most beautiful species will be on display after the talk.”

Ed’s program will be based on his newly published book:
Jewels of the Everglades: The Fossil Cowries of Southern Florida, by Edward J. Petuch, David P. Berschauer and Robert F. Myers. This is available exclusively through the San Diego Shell Club for $95.00 plus shipping and handling ($5.00 in the USA). The Cypraeidae of Plio-Pleistocene southern Florida produced the single largest radiation of cowrie shells, known from one locality, ever found anywhere on Earth. With the exception of two widespread early Pliocene species, all the rest of the fossil cowries found in southern Florida were completely restricted to that region. Even within this relatively small area, many species and species groups of cowries had very limited geographical ranges, often being restricted to select reef tracts or estuarine environments and having ranges of only a few hundred square miles. This book contains over 350 images of over 100 species of fossil cowries from over four million years (covering the Pliocene to the Holocene) beautifully illustrated on 104 color plates, together with maps and in situ pictures of these unique fossil jewels. Hurry and get your copy while supplies last.

There is still time to order it and have Ed sign it at the club meeting. Here is the address and website or go to San Diego shell club and find the section labeled store.
this is a DO NOT MISS program, so see you Oct. 10.

P.S. If you can bring a refreshment to share that will be appreciated. We will probably have a large crowd this month.

Fifteen people attended the Immokalee fossil trip Saturday January 7, 2012. Organized by Doug Fisher, Field Trip Chairman and led by Gary Schmelz PHD, past president of the Bailey Matthews Sanibel Shell Museum it was an educational adventure. We met briefly at a local shopping center for a Safety Meeting and to collect hand outs that we used to identify shells then followed Gary in a caravan to the excavating site. This is a working quarry that Gary arranges access to on off hours, otherwise the public is not allowed. A gate is opened to let us in, and then locked behind us.

Gary took us to the first collection site and explained to us that there are over 600 species of shells that are over 500,000 years old in this quarry! At one time there were more than 100 working excavating sites in Florida and now there are only 37 working quarries left. These fossilized shells are in good condition as they have been preserved by the soil.

During the 2+ hours we were at the quarry Gary took us to 3 different collection sites. Some members concentrated on big shells and filed their buckets several times over, while others concentrated on small shells. The 3^rd and last site Gary took us to with the quarry was a huge shell mound that we sifted through to find our treasures. The most common finds were Oliva sayana (Olives), Conus spurious (cones) and Stronbus pugilis (fighting conchs).

11 people continued on to lunch at the Long Horn Steakhouse in Naples, where Gary gave away prize specimens to club members, including a fossilized whale bone. Gary provided appetizers for the group and the meal and camaraderie were excellent. For some members this was a repeat trip and everyone agreed it was well worth the effort.

Pictured below include our group in front of a giant shell mound with Gary kneeling in front and an example of the shells we collected.