Siphocypraea sp.

Siphocypraea sp. Plio-Pleistocene. Manatee County, Florida. One of the interesting things about these impressive cypraeids is that literally dozens of species of the genus Siphocypraea are identified from the Plio-Pleistocene of Florida, esp. the U. Pliocene (Tamiami Fm., Pinecrest, Caloosahatchee, and related beds. In Edward Petuch’s authoritative 1994 work, Atlas of Florida Fossil Shells (Pliocene and Pleistocene Marine Gastropods), he lists no less than 25 species. The Florida Museum of Natural History illustrates 20 different species of Siphocypraea on its site, including several that were not described by Petuch, as well as three species of Calusacypraea (all from the Tamiami Fm., Pinecrest Beds). These distinct species are distinguished on the basis of often subtle characteristics, and identification to the species level would be a challenge for anyone but a professional paleontologist with expertise in the Florida Plio-Pleistocene. Identification is complicated by the fact that Siphocypraea are sometimes “pathological” (meaning that unusual growth can be observed in some part of the shell), suggesting that the distinguishing features noted in at least some of the holotypes could possibly be normal variation.

Siphocypraea sp. Plio-Pleistocene. Manatee County, Florida.

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