Hendricks—Miocene Conidae from the Gatun Formation of Panama Subgenus Pyruconus Olsson, 1967
Type species.—Conus patricius Hinds, 1843 from the Recent of the eastern Pacific, designated by Olsson (1967).
Remarks.—Tucker and Tenorio (2009) recognized Pyruconus as a genus of Conidae comprising two extant species from the eastern Pacific, C. patricius Hinds, 1843 and C. fergusoni Sowerby II, 1873. While the two species share large shells, large opercula, thick periostraca, and similar radulae, the molecular phylogenetic analysis of Puillandre et al. (2014) did not support the close relationship between the two species that is suggested by morphological data. Despite this, the classification of Puillandre et al. (2015) retained both species in Pyruconus, which was recognized as a subgenus of Conus (see further dis-
cussion in Hendricks, 2015). If future phylogenetic work con- firms that C. patricius and C. fergusoni belong to different clades, a new subgeneric name for the clade that includes C. fergusoni will be necessary. This issue has bearing on the pre- sent study because one species from the Gatun Formation, Conus recognitus Guppy, 1867, bears close resemblance to C. patricius, while another Gatun species, Conus molis Brown and Pilsbry, 1911, is very similar to C. fergusoni. For the sake of recognizing and communicating the present taxonomic uncer- tainty concerning the membership of Pyruconus, fossil species that are more similar to C. recognitus are referred informally to “Pyruconus I,” while those that are more similar to C. fergusoni are referred to “Pyruconus II.” Conus patricius is vermivorous (Nybakken, 1988; Tenorio
et al., 2012) and the similar radular tooth structure of C. fergusoni, as well as its overall phylogenetic position (Puillandre et al., 2014), strongly suggests that it shares this feeding ecology. Thus, a vermivorous feeding ecology may also be assumed for fossil species assigned to Pyruconus I and II.
Conus (Pyruconus I) recognitus Guppy, 1867 Figure 11.1–11.7
1850 Conus solidus Sowerby I, p. 45 (not Conus solidus Gmelin, 1791, which, according to Kohn [2014], is a junior synonym of Conus mappa [Lightfoot, 1786], an extant western Atlantic species).
1866 Conus solidus; Guppy, p. 287, pl. 16, fig. 1. 1867 Conus recognitus Guppy, p. 171. 1876 Conus recognitus; Guppy, p. 527. 1917 Conus recognitus; Maury, pl. 7, fig. 9. 1921 Conus recognitus; Pilsbry, pl. 19, fig. 2.
825
Republic, the species is known to occur in both the upper Miocene Cercado Formation (personal observation) and lower Pliocene Gurabo Formation (Hendricks, 2015), so the type stratum could potentially be either formation (Woodring, 1970, also reported the species from the Baitoa Formation of the Dominican Republic, presenting another possibility). Guppy (1866) reported the species (as Conus solidus) from Jamaica (presumably from the Pliocene Bowden Formation) and later (Guppy, 1876) from Haiti (stratum unknown). Woodring (1970) was the first to report the species from Panama based on a single specimen (USNM 645736; Fig. 11.1) from the upper Gatun Formation. Specimens from the lower Gatun Formation at UF locality YN020 confirm that the species ranges through the formation. Additional occurrences from Costa Rica and Colombia reported by Woodring (1970) require confirmation.
Description.—Maximum shell size: moderately large. While the largest complete specimen (UF 259876) from UF locality YN020 has SL 52.1mm and MD 28.4mm, an incomplete specimen (UF 259875) has MD 36.8mm, suggesting that it had an estimated SL 65–70mm. The lectotype has SL 65mm (Pflug, 1961). Last whorl.—Shape slightly pyriform (RD 0.61, x=0:61;
N=2); outline nearly flat to slightly sigmoidal. Protoconch unknown. Early postnuclear whorls unknown, but at least five of the teleoconch whorls of UF 190572 bear tubercles, which diminish thereafter (Fig. 11.4). Sutural ramp convex, with fine spiral treads. Subsutural flexure asymmetrical (ASSF 0.2–0.7, x=0:4, N=5), depth usually slightly greater than width (DWSSF 0.9–1.4, x=1:2, N=5) (Fig. 11.3, 11.4). Coloration pattern.—No observed specimens from UF localityYN020 show evidence of a preserved coloration pattern.
Materials.—NHMUK BM G83971 (lectotype of Conus recog- nitus Guppy, 1867); USNM 645736 (one specimen, figured by Woodring, 1970; Fig. 11.1); and an additional 18 observed specimens, all from UF locality YN020.
1970 Conus recognitus; Woodring, p. 346, pl. 55, fig. 4. 2009 Pyruconus recognitus (Guppy); Tucker and Tenorio, p. 117. 2015 Conus (Pyruconus) recognitus;Hendricks, p. 42, fig. 17a–d.
1961 Conus (Lithoconus) recognitus;Pflug, p. 59, pl. 18, figs. 12–15.
Lectotype.—NHMUK BM G83971, Yaque River, Dominican Republic, stratum unknown; designated by Pflug (1961).
Occurrence.—The exact type locality for the species is not known, but it is located somewhere in the Cibao Valley region of the northern Dominican Republic. In the Dominican
Remarks.—A thorough review of this species and its compli- cated nomenclatural history were provided by Woodring (1970; also seeWoodring, 1928), who reported only a single specimen (USNM 645736; Fig. 11.1) from the Gatun Formation of Panama (Woodring locality 182, which is located in the upper Gatun Formation). Intensive searching at UF locality YN020 resulted in the discovery of 18 additional specimens from the Gatun Formation, though all but two of these were fragmentary or otherwise poorly preserved. Interestingly, seven of the 18 specimens that were found at YN020 are preserved as calcitic casts (e.g., Fig. 11.6, 11.7), a much higher proportion than observed in other species from this locality. Why this mode of preservation was so much more common in C. recognitus than the other species found is unknown.
PMD 0.85–0.86, x=0:86;N=2); outline convex on posterior half, slightly concave on anterior third, resulting in a sigmoidal profile. Shoulder round; smooth. Widest part of shell below shoulder. Aperture uniform in width from base to shoulder. A slight siphonal notch may be present (Fig. 11.6), but confirmation of this requires more completely preserved specimens to be discovered. Spiral threads on anterior half, becoming obsolete towards shoulder. Spire whorls.—Spire low (RSH 0.09–0.10; x=0:10;
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