EUPHEMITES

extinct genus of gastropods (snails) abundant during the Late Carboniferous Period (between 320 and 286 million years ago) in the shallow seas that covered the midcontinental region of North America. Euphemites was a small, globular snail with a broad and arcuate (bow-shaped) aperture. Ornamentation consists of parallel ridges separated by troughs following the plane of coiling.