ULTRAVIOLET (UV) LIGHT REVEALS THE SHELL COLORATION PATTERNS AND PHYLOGENETIC DIVERSITY OF MIOCENE CONE SNAILS (CONIDAE) FROM THE GATUN FORMATION OF PANAMA

Fossilized cone snail (Conidae) shells were the subjects of targeted collecting at an exposure of the lower Gatun Formation near Cativa, Panama in July and October 2015. Nearly 900 specimens were collected from this middle to late Miocene locality, which is recognized by the Florida Museum of Natural History Division of Invertebrate Paleontology as YN020. On the basis of commonly preserved shell coloration patterns revealed by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, as well as other aspects of morphology, these specimens are assigned to at least nine previously described species.

Besides being useful for differentiating species, the revealed coloration patterns also inform understanding of the phylogenetic positions of each species, most of which can be assigned with confidence to modern clades. At least major six clades of Conidae are represented in the fauna at YN020, including Conasprella (Kohniconus?), Conasprella (Ximeniconus), Conus (Stephanoconus), Conus (Pyruconus), Conus (Dauciconus), and Conus (Spuriconus). These occurrences provide important temporal context for understanding the broader phylogenetic history of cone snails, especially in tropical America.