A Week’s Worth of Chipola Cowries – Day Seven

Today is the last day of Chipola cowry posts! I hope you have enjoyed them.

 

A Week’s Worth of Chipola Cowries – Day Six

An assortment of large specimens today…I believe that all three of the specimens in the first photo are Lyncina theresae Dolin, 1991. They were all collected in August 2000 from the reef facies, and range in size from 43 to 55 mm.

 

A Week’s Worth of Chipola Cowries – Day Five

Two more interesting specimens that I have never figured out the proper name for. Presumably these both belong to the subgenus Erronea (Adusta). However, three different species of this subgenus have been described from the Chipola Formation, so I am not sure exactly which species these specimens are.

 

A Week’s Worth of Chipola Cowries – Day Four

The following 2 photos show Talparia (s.s.) mariaelisabethae Dolin, 1991, by far the smallest Chipola species (most specimens are generally not much larger than 20 mm). All of my specimens were collected at a site in the coral reef facies, and are quite abraded. It is still one of my favorite species, however.

 

A Week’s Worth of Chipola Cowries – Day Three

I honestly have no idea what species this is in the first photo, but I have several specimens in my collection (from both the brackish sand and back reef facies). I really like the species, even though I’m not sure what it is, as the shells are small but very attractive, often retaining their original luster and color pattern of small spots.

 

A Week’s Worth of Chipola Cowries – Day Two

In the first photo:  A couple of beautiful Cypraeorbis specimens from the back reef facies. These are presumably Cypraeorbis ballista (Dall, 1915), although a total of three species of Cypraeorbis have been described from the Chipola Formation (I’m not very good at telling them apart).  Both specimens retain their original color pattern and luster. The slightly larger specimen on the right is 55 mm long.

In the second photo: Additional specimens from other localities, demonstrating the difference in preservation. The two specimens on the right were collected at a shoreline locality in January 1995. The dark colored specimen on the left was collected at a brackish sand site in June 1995. It is the largest specimen I ever got from that facies, and one of my largest specimens overall, at 59 mm long.

 

A Week’s Worth of Chipola Cowries – Day One

I need to take a break from writing lengthy posts for the next few days, as I have a lot of research and reviews to get done this week, so I will be posting 1-2 photos per day (with minimal commentary) all week of cypraeid species in my collection from the early Miocene Chipola Formation of Florida. (Don’t worry; I’ll still try to throw in a few muricid posts along the way, plus the Belmont Stakes is coming up on Saturday!)