Sorry Lindsey...
 
I only found out about Don having the fossil Zoila a few hours before I
posted the notice.  However, for the amount he's asking, I'm sure the
fossil will be returning to San Diego with him in a few weeks. When it
does...and I'm sure it will...I'll see if I can get him to loan it to me
long enough I can bring it up to LACM for you to examine.  Fair enough?
 
Best regards,
 
Kim
 
Lindsey T. Groves wrote:
>
> To all Conch-L ers:
>
>         Although Kim's original question was referred to Zoila
> (Gigantocypraea) gigas in the posession of Don Pisor, I must add my two
> cents worth about the status of fossil cypraeaceans of the eastern Pacific.
> I do regret that the potential availability of this marvelous specimen was
> not made public (at least to me) until just before its departure to Europe
> (for sale no doubt rather than made available for research purposes).
>
>         The 1996 meeting of the Western Society of Malacologists featured a
> Cypraeacean symposium where I reported that there are at least 86 species of
> Cypraeidae and Eocypraeinae (Ovulidae) from the eastern Pacific (this survey
> does not include Ovulinae).  Cypraeacea-wise the "eastern Pacific" is
> currently defined as Vancouver Id., British Columbia, Canada to Caldera,
> Atacama Prov., Chile and the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, Panama, and
> Colombia as the isthmus was open until the latest Pliocene/earliest
> Pleistocene.  A faunal list, current to 1996, and reference list can be
> examined in the 1997 Annual Report of the Western Society of Malacologists
> 29:7-10.  Since then I have described two new species referred to as "n.sp."
> in the list and several additonal "new species" have come to light since
> then as well.  Within this geographic area species range from Early
> Cretaceous to Recent and are broken down by period as follows: 10
> Cretaceous; 5 Paleocene; 23 Eocene; 1 Eocene/Oligocene; 10 Miocene; 8
> Pliocene; and 29 Pleistocene/Recent.  The final version of this reoprt with
> the description of at least 7 new species is in manuscript form and will be
> published in the (hopefully) "near future."  With co-author Terry Arnold of
> San Diego, I am attempting to sort out what the genus Muracypraea really
> truly is in the Caribbean and adjacent areas, and how many species there
> currently are.  Miocene species of the Muracypraea henekeni "group" have
> apparently been over split, particularly in the Caribbean. Terry has
> published several preliminary abstracts on the subject in the above
> mentioned WSM Annual Report and in a previous issue (v. 27) and more
> recently in The Festivus (v. 30, no. 8).  Stay tuned on this one as well.
> Questions and/or comments should be directed to me off-line, unless someone
> feels that the entire group would be interested.
>
> Aloha,
>
> Lindsey
>
> At 10:59 AM 9/26/98 -0700, you wrote:
> >Hello all!
> >
> >Anyone out there interested in fossil Cypraeidae? Please E-mail me.
> >
> >Kim Hutsell
> >San Diego
> >
>
> **********************************************
> Lindsey T. Groves
> Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
> Collection Manager Malacology/Invert. Paleo.
> 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007
> Voice: (213) 763-3376 (Mal) 744-3485 (IP)
> Fax: (213) 746-2999/7646
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