Hi all

My primary interest has always been fossil shells and for the past couple
of years, I have been trying to identify and cross reference my large
Upper Pliocene collection from Florida (Tamiami/Pinecrest/Jackson Bluff
Fms.), North Carolina (Duplin and Yorktown Fms.) and Virgina (Yorktown).
This is nothing new as Lyle Campbell compilied species list correlating
the Plio-Pleistocene faunas from the Eastern U.S. but I wanted to do the
same to my collection in addition to updating to modern generic
nomenclature.  This has been complicated by my desire to ignore much of
the recent literature on the Florida Pliocene by using classic references
such as Mansfield, Dall, Olsson and Harbinson, Campbell's VA Yorktown
publication and others.

A problem that I have come across is the Florida Pliocene Cypraea.  In my
collection, I only recognize the subspecies of Siphocypraea carolinensis
shown in Olsson & Petit, 1968.  There are those shells, however that are
found with juvenile shell characteristics which Petuch in a peer reviewed
paper called Calusacypraea.  My gut feeling is that these shells are
variations of Siphocypraea carolinensis floridana as I have found
individuals with interemediate characteristics, but the differences at
each end of the spectrum are quite extreme.  My question is, what is the
consensus as to the validity of Calusacypraea and its species as described
by Petuch?  Do modern Cypraea of any species exibit similar neotenic
characteristics and variation?

Thanks

Mike

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------