Coffeacypraea tithonica ( Di Stefano, 1882 )

Nützel, Alexander, Schneider, Simon, Bakayeva, Sofia & Kaim, Andrzej, 2025, The earliest cowries: the origin of cypraeoid gastropods, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 70 (2), pp. 213-223 : 216-219

Coffeacypraea tithonica ( Di Stefano, 1882)

Figs. 3A–D , 4A–G, 5.

1882 Cypraea tithonica, Di Stef. ; Di Stefano 1882: 76, pl. 4: 4, 5.

1911 Cypraea tithonica di Stef. ; Blaschke 1911: 162.

1919 Cypr. tithonica Di Stef. ; Parona 1919: 475.

1927 [ Cyproglobina ] tithonica di Stef. ; Schilder 1927: 71.

1971 Palaeocypraea ( Palaeocypraea) tithonica ; Schilder and Schil- der 1971: 24.

1990 Palaeocypraea ( P.) tithonica ( Stefano, 1882) ; Groves 1990: 273.

1992 Palaeocypraea ( Palaeocypraea) tithonica ( Stefano, 1882) ; Groves 1990: 101.

1993 Palaeocypraea tithonica ; Tracey et al. 1993: 148.

1994 Palaeocypraea ( Palaeocypraea) tithonica (Steffano 1882) [sic!]; Groves 1994: 26, figs. 5, 6 [reproduced from Di Stefano 1882].

2014 Bernaya gemmellaroi ( Di Stefano, 1882) ; Zamberlan and Checchi 2014: 21, fig. 8 [not fig. 7].

2021 Palaeocypraea tithonica ( Stefano, 1882) ; Groves and Landau 2021: 8.

2024 Palaeocypraea tithonica ( Di Stefano, 1882) ; Capasso 2024: 165, figs. 1, 2.

2024 Bernaya gemmellaroi ( Di Stefano, 1882) ; Capasso 2024: 166, fig. 4 [not fig. 3].

Emended diagnosis.—Small (up to 13 mm long), smooth-shelled Cypraeidae ; short-ovate to almost circular in outline in dorsal view; basal side of shell widely flattened; dorsal side more or less evenly arched and inflated. Aperture slit-like, in almost central position, straight, without widened anterior and posterior notches; columellar and labral denticles evenly sized and spaced (barely visible due to limited preservation). Anterior (siphonal) and posterior canals very short.

Material.— Seven syntypes, curated under catalogue numbers MGUP-20-368a–g; relatively well preserved shells. The specimen in Fig. 4D ( Di Stefano 1882: pl. 4: 4a, b; MGUP-20-368a) is designated as the lectotype herein, while the remaining six specimens become paralectotypes (MGUP-20-368b–g). All specimens come from the castle mountain of Termini Imerese, Palermo Region, Sicily; Ellipsactinia breccias member, Crisanti Formation, Tithonian, Upper Jurassic. Two additional specimens not examined by the authors come from Tithonian strata on the island of Capri (MSTC no. 186vi0949 and MSTC no. 186vi0950); see Zamberlan and Checchi (2014) and Capasso (2024).

Description.—Shell up to 13 mm long, 12.5 mm wide and 8 mm high; convolute, cypraeid in shape, with last whorl overgrowing all previous whorls; very short ovate to almost circular in outline in dorsal view; moderately and evenly inflated in lateral view, with basal (apertural) side flattened. Outer shell surface smooth. Aperture narrow, slit-like, in almost central position, straight, without widened anterior and posterior notches. Columellar and labral sides of aperture with numerous teeth, in most specimens barely visible due to limited preservation.

Remarks.—The studied specimens of Coffeacypraea tithonica generally are similar to modern cypraeids with regard to shell morphology, but differ sufficiently from younger taxa to be placed in their own genus. The specimens illustrated in Fig. 4A and B show that the last whorl overgrows the lowspired previous whorls and produces the typical cypraeid convolute shape. However, as noted by Capasso (2024), the

Fig. 4. Cypraeid gastropod Coffeacypraea tithonica ( Di Stefano, 1882) from the Tithonian, Upper Jurassic, of the castle mountain of Termini Imerese , → Sicily, Italy. Type series of Cypraea tithonica Di Stefano, 1882 : lectotype (D), paralectotypes (A–C, E–G). A, B. Specimens with broken last whorl, exposing the earlier whorls. A. MGUP-20-368b, in apical (posterior) (A 1), dorsal (abapertural) (A 2), and lateral (A 3) views. B. MGUP-20-368c, in dorsal view. C. MGUP-20-368d, fragmentary specimen showing part of the aperture with some of the denticles visible, in apertural view. D. MGUP-20-368a, specimen with denticulate aperture, in dorsal (abapertural) (D 1), apertural (D 2), and lateral (D 3) views. E. MGUP-20-368e, largest and roundest specimen of the type series with poorly preserved aperture, in dorsal (abapertural) (E 1), apertural (E 2), and lateral (E 3) views. F. MGUP-20-368f, faintly asymmetric specimen, in lateral (F 1), dorsal (abapertural) (F 2), and apertutal (F 3) views. G. MGUP-20-368, slightly irregularly shaped specimen with a faint dent on the dorsal side, seen best in G 3, in dorsal (abapertural) (G 1), apertural (G 2), and lateral (G 3) views.

shells are much shorter and more circular than in any other genera, with length/width ratios of1.04 to 1.18 for C. tithonica and approximately 1.12 to 1.15 for C. gemmellaroi (measured from Fig. 3E, F ). Coffeacypraea Nützel & Schneider gen. nov. also differs from the other genera of the Cypraeidae by having a straight, rather narrow aperture in central position, which lacks the widened anterior and posterior notches seen in their Cretaceous and younger descendants. Moreover, the anterior and posterior canals are barely developed. Although the preservation of the specimens is not ideal, this is not a result of erosion, but a genuine feature. By far most other Cypraeidae have more or less curved apertures, which are opisthocyrt inclined and the siphonal (anterior) and posterior canals are usually much more pronounced.

Two specimens from the island of Capri, figured by Zamberlan and Checchi (2014) and Capasso (2024) under the names Bernaya gemmellaroi ( Di Stefano, 1882) and Palaeocypraea tithonica ( Di Stefano, 1882) , fall into the size range and morphological variability of the type series of C. tithonica . MSTC no. 186vi0950 is slightly tapered posteriorly and has a shallow dent in its anterior part. However, similar features occur in the paralectotypes (Fig. 4B, C, G 3) and should be attributed to intraspecific variability.

Whether the single specimen from the Tithonian–Berriasian of Štramberk ( Czech Republic) reported by Blaschke 1911) should be assigned to Coffeacypraea tithonica is unconfirmed. The specimen was not illustrated and could not be traced among Blaschke’s (1911) material, which only comprises the figured specimens (personal communication Thomas Nichterl, January 2025).

In his first major revision of the Cypraeoidea , Schilder (1927) assigned Cypraea tithonica , the type species of Coffeacypraea Nützel & Schneider gen. nov., to Cyproglobina De Gregorio, 1880 , a genus that is based on an Eocene type species from southeastern France and is presently placed in the family Ovulidae (see Fehse 2013 for subsequent type designation and taxonomy). Subsequently, Cypraea tithonica was assigned to the genus Palaeocypraea Schilder, 1928 , by several authors (see synonymy above), which is based on a type species from the Danian (Paleogene) of Denmark, Cypraeacites spiratus Schlotheim, 1820 . While comparable in size, Palaeocypraea spirata is significantly more elongated and has a distinctly curved aperture in a less central position. It also differs by having widened posterior and anterior canals. Owing to the curvature of the aperture, the apertural denticles vary in strength and inclination in Palaeocypraea , while they are apparently equal in size and orientation in Coffeacypraea Nützel & Schneider gen. nov. Coffeacypraea tithonica was not originally included when Schilder (1928) introduced Palaeocypraea , but was later transferred to that genus ( Schilder and Schilder 1971).

Stratigraphic and geographic range.—Tithonian, Upper Jurassic of Italy and potentially Czechia.

Coffeacypraea gemmellaroi ( Di Stefano, 1882) Fig. 3E, F .

1882 Cypraea Gemmellaroi, Di-Stef. ; Di Stefano 1882: 75, pl. 4: 3.

?1919 Cypraea Gemmellaroi Di Stef. ; Parona 1919: 475.

1927 [ Bernaya ( Protocypraea) ] gemmellaroi di Stef. ; Schilder 1927: 88.

1928 [ Protocypraea] gemmellaroi di Stef. ; Schilder 1928: 23.

1971 [ Bernaya ( Bernaya) ] gemmellaroi Stefano 1882 ; Schilder and Schilder 1971: 27.

1990 Bernaya ( B.) gemmellaroi ( Stefano, 1882) ; Groves 1990: 273.

1993 Bernaya gemmellaroi Stefano, 1882 ; Tracey et al. 1993: 148.

1994 Bernaya ( Protocypraea) gemmellaroi (Steffano 1882) [sic!]; Groves 1994: 26, figs. 3, 4 [reproduced from Di Stefano 1882]. non 2014 Bernaya gemmellaroi ( Di Stefano, 1882) ; Zamberlan and Checchi 2014: 21, fig. 8.

2021 Palaeocypraea gemmellaroi ( Stefano, 1882) ; Groves and Landau 2021: 8.

non 2024 Bernaya gemmellaroi ( Di Stefano, 1882) ; Capasso 2024: 166, fig. 4.

Emended diagnosis.—Relatively small (approximately 25 mm long), smooth-shelled Cypraeidae ; rounded short-ovate in outline in dorsal view, with slightly tapering anterior and posterior portions; basal side of shell widely flattened, slightly subsiding towards the apertural slit; dorsal side evenly arched and inflated. Aperture slit-like, in almost central position, straight, seemingly slightly widened in central part, without widened anterior and posterior notches; apertural denticles seen on columellar lip only, presumably due to limited preservation, evenly sized and spaced. Anterior (siphonal) and posterior canals very short.

Material.—The type material of Cypraea gemmellaroi was not found during our visit to Palermo in 2017. From Di Stefano’s (1882) description, it is unclear whether there were more specimens than the figured one. However, the expression “height of the figured specimen” may be read as a hint that there were several syntypes. The type material comes from the castle mountain of Termini Imerese, Palermo Region, Sicily, Italy; Ellipsactinia breccias member, Crisanti Formation, Tithonian, Upper Jurassic.

Description.—Shell up to 25 mm long; convolute, cypraeid in shape, with last whorl overgrowing all previous whorls; rounded short-ovate in outline in dorsal view; anterior and posterior ends slightly tapering, the posterior one more so than the anterior one (note that the posterior end is facing upward in Fig. 3E, F ). Shell considerably and evenly inflated in lateral view, with basal (apertural) side widely flattened, probably slightly subsiding towards the apertural slit. Outer shell surface smooth. Aperture relatively narrow, slit-like, in almost central position, slightly widened (?) in central part, straight without widened anterior and posterior notches. Apertural denticles evenly sized and spaced, clearly visible on columellar lip only, presumably due to limited preservation. Anterior (siphonal) and posterior canals very short; posterior canal more clearly marked than siphonal canal.

Remarks.— Cypraea gemmellaroi is also included in Coffeacypraea Nützel & Schneider gen. nov., which has a more bulbous shell than Coffeacypraea tithonica and is also significantly larger, almost twice the size. According to the original illustration by Di Stefano (1882), its slit-like aperture is also straight; the anterior and posterior canals are more distinct than in Coffeacypraea tithonica but still not very pronounced. In modern cypraeids, shell size is highly variable, and in some species, the largest individuals are three times the size of the smallest ones (e.g., Poppe and Goto 1991). This means that Coffeacypraea tithonica and C. gemmellaroi may represent a single species, based on their sizes alone. However, in view of the slight differences noted above, while relying only on Di Stefano’s (1882) figures and description, both species are considered valid.

As mentioned above, Coffeacypraea gemmellaroi was assigned to Bernaya ( Protocypraea) Schilder, 1927 , with the original description of the subgenus ( Schilder 1927; type species: Cypraea orbignyana Vredenburg, 1920 ; Upper Cretaceous, southern India); Groves (1994) reverted to this assignment without discussion, but subsequently transferred the species to Bernaya Jousseaume, 1884 sensu stricto ( Schilder and Schilder 1971), which is based on a type species from the Eocene of France, Cypraea media Deshayes, 1835 . Species of Bernaya differ from Coffeacypraea gemmellaroi by having a curved aperture that is widened posteriorly, while that of C. gemmellaroi is straight and lacks a widened posterior part. Moreover, species of the genus Bernaya are broadly pyriform in dorso-ventral view. In contrast, Coffeacypraea gemmellaroi is rounded short-ovate in outline. Besides the morphological differences, Eocene species of Bernaya are also significantly larger than these of Coffeacypraea Nützel & Schneider gen. nov., ranging between 37 and 62 mm in length (e.g., Pacaud 2018).

Stratigraphic and geographic range.—Tithonian, Upper Jurassic of Italy.

Figures

Fig. 3. Reproduction of Di Stefano’s (1882) drawings of “Cypraea tithonicaDi Stefano, 1882” (A–D) and Cypraea gemmellaroi Di Stefano, 1882 (E, F), illustrating the significant difference in size.A, C, F, apertural view; B, D, E, dorsal view.An approximate scale bar is added.