Fossil Carychiidae (Eupulmonata, Ellobioidea) from the Lower Pleistocene Nashua Formation of Florida, with the description of a new species

By

Jochum, Adrienne
Bochud, Estee
Haberthür, David
Lee, Harry G
Hlushchuk, Ruslan
Toomey, James

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1167

Pages

89--107

Subjects

Central Florida , Computer tomography , freshwater marl , mollusc assemblage , Orlando , Pleistocene

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1167.102840

 

Abstract

Recent fossil shell mining for a new rail line in the Orlando area of Orange County, Florida has uncovered two species of the ellobioid genus Carychium O. F. Müller, 1773 in a bed of freshwater marl from the Lower Pleistocene Nashua Formation. To taxonomically interpret these finds, the well-preserved shells were imaged via high-resolution X-ray tomography (micro-CT) to view significant internal diagnostic characters such as the columellar configuration and the degree of lamellar sinuosity and their relationship in context to the entire shell. The image data are compared to that of type material and extant and fossil Carychium species inhabiting the SE USA, Mexico, Central America, and Jamaica. Based on these results, the species Carychium floridanum G. H. Clapp, 1918 and Carychium nashuaensesp. nov. are identified from fossil shells dating from the Early Pleistocene. This work documents the first fossil members of C. floridanum and the first fossil Carychium from the SE USA.