Conus carlottae

Conus carlottae
Several images of Conus carlottae; the colored images are reversed images of specimens photographed under UV light.
Conservation status
Extinct
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Conidae
Genus:	Conus
Species:	†C. carlottae
Binomial name
†Conus carlottae Hendricks, 2015
Synonyms[1]
† Conus (Lautoconus) carlottae Hendricks, 2015 · accepted, alternate representation

Conus carlottae is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones.^[1]

Description

The shell of Conus carlottae attains a size of 40 mm. Under ultraviolet light, fossil specimens reveal a unique pattern of large polka dots, a coloration pattern that appears to be extinct among modern cone snails.^[2][3]

Distribution

This species is only known from fossils found in Neogene deposits of the Cibao Valley, northern Dominican Republic, specifically from the upper Miocene Cercado Formation and lower Pliocene Gurabo Formation, dating from approximately 6.6 to 4.8 million years ago.^[2]

References

1. Bouchet, P. (2015). Conus carlottae. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=843191 on 2015-10-07
2. Hendricks J.R. (2015). Glowing seashells: diversity of fossilized coloration patterns on coral reef-associated cone snail (Gastropoda: Conidae) shells from the Neogene of the Dominican Republic. PLoS ONE. 10(4): e0120924
3. "UV Light Reveals Original Colors of 5-Million-Year-Old Cone Shells". Sci.News. 2 April 2015.

Hendricks J.R. (2015). Glowing seashells: diversity of fossilized coloration patterns on coral reef-associated cone snail (Gastropoda: Conidae) shells from the Neogene of the Dominican Republic. PLoS ONE. 10(4): e0120924. Full text

External links

To World Register of Marine Species