Data from: Diversity and preserved shell coloration patterns of Miocene Conidae (Neogastropoda) from an exposure of the Gatun Formation, Colon Province, Panama

Extant members of the neogastropod family Conidae (cone snails) are renowned for their often dazzling shell coloration patterns and venomous feeding habits. Many cone snail species have also been described from the fossil record, but to date have been little used to understand the evolutionary history of extant clades. The cone snail fauna of the Miocene Gatun Formation of Colón Province, Panama is especially important for understanding the temporal and biogeographic history of tropical American Conidae. Intensive, focused collecting from an exposure of the lower Gatun Formation (deposited ca. 11-10 Ma) resulted in the discovery of nearly 900 specimens of Conidae. Remarkably, many of these well-preserved specimens exhibit revealed coloration patterns when exposed to ultraviolet light. The fluorescing coloration patterns were used in conjunction with other features of shell morphology to differentiate species and, in most cases, evaluate their potential relationships to members of the extant tropical American fauna. Nine species are fully described from this locality, one of which is recognized as new: Conus (Stephanoconus) woodringi n. sp. At least one, and perhaps more, Conidae species are also present at the study locality. The diversity of this Conidae fauna is considered moderate relative to other recently analyzed tropical American fossil assemblages. The phylogenetic diversity of the assemblage, however, is noteworthy: six of the ten species can be confidently assigned to six different clades of extant Conidae, providing potentially useful calibration points for future phylogenetic studies.

现存新腹足目（neogastropod）芋螺科（Conidae，俗称芋螺）的现生类群，以其常令人赞叹的壳体色彩纹饰与有毒捕食习性而享誉学界。化石记录中虽已记载诸多芋螺物种，但迄今鲜有研究借助此类化石探讨现生支系（clades）的演化历史。巴拿马科隆省（Colón Province）中新世（Miocene）加通组（Gatun Formation）的芋螺动物群，对于解析热带美洲芋螺科的时间与生物地理演化历史尤为关键。研究人员对该组下段（沉积年代约为1100万至1000万年前，Ma）的露头开展集中针对性采集，共获得近900件芋螺科标本。值得注意的是，其中多数保存完好的标本在紫外线（ultraviolet light）照射下可显现出清晰的荧光显色图案（fluorescing coloration patterns）。研究团队结合该荧光显色图案与壳体形态（shell morphology）的其他特征，完成了物种区分，并在多数案例中评估了它们与现生热带美洲芋螺类群的潜在亲缘关系。该产地共完整描述了9个物种，其中1个被定为新种：Conus (Stephanoconus) woodringi n. sp.。该研究产地还存在至少1种，或许更多的芋螺科物种。相较于近期分析的其他热带美洲化石组合，该芋螺动物群的多样性处于中等水平。但该组合的系统发育多样性（phylogenetic diversity）颇具研究价值：10个物种中有6个可明确归入现生芋螺科的6个不同支系，可为未来的系统发育研究提供极具价值的校准点（calibration points）。