''Cypraecassis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of medium-sized to large

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

s, marine

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

s in the family

Cassidae The Cassidae are a taxonomic family of medium-sized, large, and sometimes very large sea snails commonly called helmet snails or bonnet snails. These are marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Tonnoidea and the clade Littorinimorpha.Go ...

.Bouchet, P. (2012). Cypraecassis Stutchbury, 1837. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=204021 on 2012-06-25 Cassidae - Cypraecassis pseudocrumena

Fossil record

Fossils of ''Cypraecassis'' are found in marine strata from the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

until the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

(age range: from 15.97 to 0.012 million years ago.). Fossils are known from various localities in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Species

Species within the genus ''Cypraecassis'' include: * ''

Cypraecassis coarctata ''Cypraecassis'' is a genus of medium-sized to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cassidae.Bouchet, P. (2012). Cypraecassis Stutchbury, 1837. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecie ...

( Sowerby, 1825) * ''

Cypraecassis rufa ''Cypraecassis rufa'' is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Cassidae. It is commonly known as the bullmouth shell or red helmet shell, and also as the cameo shell. Distribution This species is found of ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

) * ''

Cypraecassis tenuis ''Cypraecassis'' is a genus of medium-sized to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cassidae.Bouchet, P. (2012). Cypraecassis Stutchbury, 1837. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecie ...

'' (Wood, 1828) * ''

Cypraecassis testiculus ''Cypraecassis testiculus'', common name the reticulated cowry helmet, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cassidae, the helmet snails and bonnet snails. There is one subspecies : ''Cypraecassis testicu ...

'' (

) ** ''

Cypraecassis testiculus senegalica ''Cypraecassis'' is a genus of medium-sized to large sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cassidae.Bouchet, P. (2012). Cypraecassis Stutchbury, 1837. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www. ...

'' * '' Cypraecassis wilmae'' Kreipl & Alf, 2000

References

* Rolán E., 2005. ''Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda.'' * WoRMS info here

External links

* Natural History Rotterdam images of the family

Cassidae {{Cassidae-stub