Q-man:

        Greetings.  The earliest cypraeids are the latest Jurassic (Tithonian)
species Palaeocypraea tithonica di Stefano, 1882 and Bernaya gemmellaroi di
Stefano, 1882 from near Palermo, Sicily, Italy.  They appear to have arisen
from the extinct strmoboidean family Colombelinidae and in particular the
species Zittelia cipraeaformis Gemmellaro, 1869 again from Late Jurassic
(Kimmeridgian) strata of Sicily, Italy as well.  (see Groves, 1994 for more
on Jurassic and Creatceous cypraeid paleontology and biostratigraphy: The
Cowry n.s. v. 1, no. 2).

Aloha,

Lindsey

At 10:05 PM 11/25/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Big Q: How far back can recent families be traced to their origins? When
>did Cyprea develop and from what? When did the long slender shells
>(Eps., Ceriths, Augers, etc.) split from some common ancester?  Is a
>Clade or Tree available?
>            Q Man
>