Strombus coronatus (Defrance, 1827) Fossil Cyprus

Strombus coronatus is an extinct species of fossil sea snail from the Pliocene (5-2 million years ago), a conch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Strombidae, the conchs.

Persististrombus coronatus has a shell reaching a length of 100–120 millimetres (3.9–4.7 in), but some specimen may attain sizes up to 155 mm. The large-sized light brown shells are heavy, very thick at the right edge, and show long protuberances. These molluscs were epifaunal omnivore-grazers. They lived in shallow water on sandy seabeds, in warm and tropical seas.

In the Miocene, the species is a West African element, which later invaded the Mediterranean Region. It disappears from the Mediterranean Sea completely with the onset of the Late Pliocene cooling.

During the early Pliocene warming, the species is recorded from Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco and the Canary Islands. It is also present in the Miocene of Algeria, Greece, Libya, Romania, Somalia and in the Oligocene of Hungary.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Photos Nicosia  by George Konstantinou

The biggest Strombus coronatus found in Cyprus.found by George Tornatiis near Nicosia