The oldest South Australian cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) from the Paleogene of the St Vincent Basin

Abstract

Yates, A.M., March, 2009. The oldest South Australian cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) from the Paleogene of the St Vincent Basin. Alcheringa 33, 23–31. ISSN 0311-5518.

Two occurrences of cowries in the Paleogene of the St Vincent Basin are described. Two cypraeid internal moulds from the late Eocene (Aldingan) Blanche Point Formation comprise one such occurrence. These are among the oldest recorded Australian cypraeids. They bear some resemblance to the genera Zoila and Umbilia but insufficient details are preserved for accurate identification. The second occurrence consists of a series of internal and external moulds from the early Oligocene of the Port Willunga Formation. These represent a new species of the endemic subgenus Lyncina (Austrocypraea), here described as L. (A.) onkastoma. This species is the oldest known member of the subgenus but its apparently derived characteristics indicate that the subgenus had already diversified by this time.

Key words:

• Cypraeidae
• Lyncina
• Austrocypraea
• Eocene
• Oligocene
• Australia

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank B. McHenry, D. Rice and M. Lee of the South Australian Museum for their assistance and allowing me access to the collections in their care. J. Yates provided references and photographs of some comparative specimens. I thank T. Darragh and A. Beu for their thoughtful reviews that improved the quality of this paper. This work was funded in part by Research Incentive money provided by the NRF to the School of Geology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.