Eocypraeidae
Eocypraeidae is a small family of large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cypraeoidea, the cowries and cowry allies.
The family Eocypraeidae consists mainly of fossil species, except for two species: Sphaerocypraea incomparabilis Briano, 1993 and an as yet undescribed species found in the southern Atlantic.
In 1963, a fresh shell of what was subsequently named Sphaerocypraea incomparabilis was dredged up by a Soviet trawler in the Gulf of Aden. There are currently only six known specimens of this shell in various collections.Taxonomy
2005 taxonomy
According to the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi this family belonged to the tribe Eocypraeini in the subfamily Ovulinae within the family Ovulidae.2007 taxonomy
Fehse has raised the tribe Eocypraeini to the status of the family Eocypraeidae, based on morphological research of the radulae, shell and animal morphology and molecular phylogeny research of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene.Genera
Genera within the family Eocypraeidae include:
- † Apiocypraea Schilder, 1925
- * † Apiocypraea davidi
- * † Apiocypraea parvoastensis
- * † Apiocypraea spatiosa Fehse, 2003
- † Eocypraea Cossmann, 1903 - It is extinct since the end of the Eocene. This is the type genus of the family.
- Sphaerocypraea Schilder, 1927
- * Sphaerocypraea incomparabilis Briano, 1993
