Abstract
The biology of modern Conidae (cone snails)—which includes the hyperdiverse genus Conus—has been intensively studied, but the fossil record of the clade remains poorly understood, particularly within an evolutionary framework. Here, ultraviolet light is used to reveal and characterize the original shell coloration patterns of 28 species of cone snails from three Neogene coral reef-associated deposits from the Cibao Valley, northern Dominican Republic. These fossils come from the upper Miocene Cercado Fm. and lower Pliocene Gurabo Fm., and range in age from about 6.6-4.8 Ma. Comparison of the revealed coloration patterns with those of extant species allow the taxa to be assigned to three genera of cone snails (Profundiconus, Conasprella, and Conus) and at least nine subgenera. Thirteen members of these phylogenetically diverse reef faunas are described as new species. These include: Profundiconus? hennigi, Conasprella (Ximeniconus) ageri, Conus anningae, Conus lyelli, Conus (Atlanticonus?) franklinae, Conus (Stephanoconus) gouldi, Conus (Stephanoconus) bellacoensis, Conus (Ductoconus) cashi, Conus (Dauciconus) garrisoni, Conus (Dauciconus?) zambaensis, Conus (Spuriconus?) kaesleri, Conus (Spuriconus?) lombardii, and Conus (Lautoconus?) carlottae. Each of the three reef deposits contain a minimum of 14–16 cone snail species, levels of diversity that are similar to modern Indo-Pacific reef systems. Finally, most of the 28 species can be assigned to modern clades and thus have important implications for understanding the biogeographic and temporal histories of these clades in tropical America.
Highlights
Cone snails—which include three small genera, Profundiconus, Californiconus, and Conasprella, and one large genus, Conus—are one of the most well-studied and species-rich clades of marine animals, and are represented by over 700 extant species [1, 2]
UV light is used here to reveal and characterize the great diversity of shell coloration patterns exhibited by fossil cone snails from three Neogene-aged, coral reef-associated assemblages from the Cibao Valley of the northern Dominican Republic (DR), the geology and paleontology of which has been intensively studied (e.g., [24,25,26])
The first locality, Tulane University (TU) 1422, is located at Arroyo Bellaco, “which is a tributary of Río Cana from the east, [a] coral reef that is exposed for approximately 1 km below the ford at Las Caobas Adentro, 3 km southwest of Las Caobas” ([24], p. 67)
Summary
Cone snails—which include three small genera, Profundiconus, Californiconus, and Conasprella, and one large genus, Conus—are one of the most well-studied and species-rich clades of marine animals, and are represented by over 700 extant species [1, 2]. UV light is used here to reveal and characterize the great diversity of shell coloration patterns exhibited by fossil cone snails from three Neogene-aged, coral reef-associated assemblages from the Cibao Valley of the northern Dominican Republic (DR), the geology and paleontology of which has been intensively studied (e.g., [24,25,26]). These three assemblages were selected for their diversity of species and quality of preserved coloration patterns, which permit 13 new species to be recognized and described. The preserved coloration patterns documented here allow many of the newly and previously studied species to be assigned to modern clades, providing insight on the phylogenetic and biogeographic history of cone snails in tropical America
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