Biology:Echinofulguridae

From HandWiki

Echinofulguridae is an extinct family of predatory marine gastropods within the superfamily Buccinoidea from the Late Cretaceous- Early Pleistocene of eastern North America.[1][2] The family was first described by Petuch in 1994 and is considered by said author to be ancestral to the extant family Busyconidae.[2]

Description

The family comprises three genera per WoRMS, although the source describing Archefulgur also divides it into three subfamilies (see synonyms below).[1][2] The author who named them, Petuch, diagnoses them as "small-to-medium sized gastropods with inflated, pyriform or fusiform shells, most often ornamented with two rows of spines or knobs, one around the mid-body and one around the shoulder; some species have only a single row of spines around the shoulder; shell surface smooth and silky or sculptured with numerous very fine spiral threads; siphonal canals elongated, narrow, separated from the body whorl by a distinct constriction; siphonal canals often ornamented with strong spiral cords or a single large scaly ridge; spire whorls generally elevated, protracted, or scalariform, most often ornamented with one or two rows of spines; parietal region glazed; apertures wide and flaring; protoconchs rounded, composed of two whorls."[2]

Genera

Genera within the family Echinofulguridae include:[3]

  • Archefulgur Petuch, R. F. Myers & Berschauer, 2015 †
  • Echinofulgur Olsson & Harbison, 1953 †
  • Levifusus Conrad, 1865 †

Synonyms

  • † Surculofusus É. Vincent, 1895: synonym of † Levifusus Conrad, 1865 [1]

References

  • Petuch, E. J. (1994). Atlas of Florida Fossil Shells. Evanston, Illinois: Chicago Spectrum Press. 394 pp., 20 figs., 100 pls.

Wikidata ☰ Q26722488 entry