First Fossil Record of Thorn Snails Found in Southern US

Researchers have described the first fossil Carychium land snails from Florida, including a previously unknown carychiid fossil species. The rock layer containing the snail fossils, which are only a few millimeters in size, was accidentally uncovered during construction work and dates from the Pleistocene period between 2.58 million and 11,700 years ago. The tiny snails of the genus Carychium are known mostly east of the Mississippi River in the U.S. and from eastern Canada, Mexico, and Jamaica as well as in sheltered humid habitats in Central America to Panama.