Data from: Glowing seashells: diversity of fossilized coloration patterns on coral reef-associated cone snail (Gastropoda: Conidae) shells from the Neogene of the Dominican Republic

The biology of modern Conidae (cone snails)—which includes the hyperdiverse genus Conus—has been intensively studied, but the fossil record of the clade remains poorly understood, particularly within an evolutionary framework. Here, ultraviolet light is used to reveal and characterize the original shell coloration patterns of 28 species of cone snails from three Neogene coral reef-associated deposits from the Cibao Valley, northern Dominican Republic. These fossils come from the upper Miocene Cercado Fm. and lower Pliocene Gurabo Fm., and range in age from about 6.6-4.8 Ma. Comparison of the revealed coloration patterns with those of extant species allow the taxa to be assigned to three genera of cone snails (Profundiconus, Conasprella, and Conus) and at least nine subgenera. Thirteen members of these phylogenetically diverse reef faunas are described as new species. These include: Profundiconus? hennigi, Conasprella (Ximeniconus) ageri, Conus anningae, Conus lyelli, Conus (Atlanticonus?) franklinae, Conus (Stephanoconus) gouldi, Conus (Stephanoconus) bellacoensis, Conus (Ductoconus) cashi, Conus (Dauciconus) garrisoni, Conus (Dauciconus?) zambaensis, Conus (Spuriconus?) kaesleri, Conus (Spuriconus?) lombardii, and Conus (Lautoconus?) carlottae. Each of the three reef deposits contain a minimum of 14–16 cone snail species, levels of diversity that are similar to modern Indo-Pacific reef systems. Finally, most of the 28 species can be assigned to modern clades and thus have important implications for understanding the biogeographic and temporal histories of these clades in tropical America.

现代芋螺科（Conidae，包含物种高度多样的芋螺属（Conus））的生物学特征已得到深入系统的研究，但该演化支的化石记录仍未得到充分认知，尤其是在演化框架层面。本研究采用紫外线技术，揭示并表征了采自多米尼加共和国北部西保谷三处新近纪珊瑚礁沉积地层的28种芋螺的原始壳体色泽图案。这些化石分别产自上中新统塞萨尔多组（Cercado Fm.）和上新统下部古拉沃组（Gurabo Fm.），年代跨度约为6.6至4.8百万年。
将上述揭示的色泽图案与现生类群的对应特征进行比对后，可将这些化石类群归入芋螺科的3个属（原深芋螺属（Profundiconus）、拳螺芋螺属（Conasprella）以及芋螺属（Conus）），至少9个亚属。其中13个隶属于该系统发育多样的礁栖动物群的类群被正式描述为新种，分别为：原深芋螺属（Profundiconus）？亨氏原深芋螺（Profundiconus? hennigi）、拳螺芋螺属（Conasprella）（西门芋螺亚属（Ximeniconus））阿格里拳螺芋螺（Conasprella (Ximeniconus) ageri）、安尼芋螺（Conus anningae）、莱利芋螺（Conus lyelli）、？大西洋芋螺亚属（Atlanticonus?）富兰克林芋螺（Conus (Atlanticonus?) franklinae）、斯蒂芬诺芋螺亚属（Stephanoconus）古尔德芋螺（Conus (Stephanoconus) gouldi）、斯蒂芬诺芋螺亚属贝拉科芋螺（Conus (Stephanoconus) bellacoensis）、导管芋螺亚属（Ductoconus）卡什芋螺（Conus (Ductoconus) cashi）、多籽芋螺亚属（Dauciconus）加里森芋螺（Conus (Dauciconus) garrisoni）、？多籽芋螺亚属（Dauciconus?）赞巴芋螺（Conus (Dauciconus?) zambaensis）、？刺芋螺亚属（Spuriconus?）凯斯勒芋螺（Conus (Spuriconus?) kaesleri）、？刺芋螺亚属隆巴德芋螺（Conus (Spuriconus?) lombardii）以及？劳托芋螺亚属（Lautoconus?）卡洛塔芋螺（Conus (Lautoconus?) carlottae）。
三处礁相沉积地层各至少包含14至16种芋螺，其物种多样性水平与现代印度-太平洋珊瑚礁生态系统的多样性水平相当。最后，本次研究涉及的28个物种中多数可归入现生演化支，这对于阐明美洲热带地区这些演化支的生物地理分布与时间演化历史具有重要意义。