First record of marine gastropods (wentletraps) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

Abstract

Abstracts Gastropod fossils are rarely preserved in amber with only a few records of terrestrial snails. Two new species, Epitonium (Epitonium) zhuoi n. sp. and Epitonium (Papyriscala) lyui n. sp. are described based on two well-preserved specimens from mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. Highresolution three-dimensional images using X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) are provided. These species can be attributed to the family Epitoniidae (wentletraps) based on the shell characters such as the slender and conical shell-shape, numerous whorls, round aperture and regular, axial sculpture of high, sharply-ribbed costae. Our find is the first record of marine gastropods preserved in amber, and suggests that the Burmese amber forest probably existed close to the seashore.