''Eoconus sauridens'' is an extinct

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

, a marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

, in the family Conidae.MolluscaBase (2018). ''Eoconus sauridens'' (Conrad, 1833) †. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1052048 on 2018-12-27 One subspecies: † ''Conus sauridens chiraensis'' A. A. Olsson, 1930

Description

The shell of Eoconus sauridens is relatively large, with a length that can reach up to 65 mm. The shell is characterized by its conical shape and intricate patterns. The surface of the shell is adorned with fine spiral ridges and grooves, which add to its intricate appearance. The coloration of the shell, as inferred from fossil records, likely featured a combination of light and dark hues that provided camouflage against the seabed.

Distribution

Fossils of this species were found in

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

strata in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, US; also in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

References

* Conrad, Timothy Abbott. "ART. XVII. ''On some new Fossil and Recent Shells of the United States''." American Journal of Science and Arts (1820-1879) 23.2 (1833): 339. * W. H. Dall. 1916. ''A contribution to the invertebrate fauna of the Oligocene beds of Flint, River''. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 51(2162):487-524 * B. L. Clark and J. W. Durham. 1946. ''Eocene Faunas from the Department of Bolivar, Colombia.'' Geological Society of America Memoir 16:1-126 * W. P. Woodring. 1970. ''Geology and paleontology of canal zone and adjoining parts of Panama: Description of Tertiary mollusks (gastropods: Eulimidae, Marginellidae to Helminthoglyptidae)''. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 306(D):299–452 * J. R. Hendricks and R. W. Portell. 2008. ''Late Eocene Conus (Neogastropoda: Conidae) from Florida, US.'' The Nautilus 122(2):79–93 sauridens Gastropods described in 1833 {{paleo-gastropod-stub