Gisortia
| Gisortia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Fossil Gisortia tuberculosa shell from Ypresian (Eocene) aged sediments in Gan, France | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Family: | Cypraeidae |
| Genus: | †Gisortia Jousseaume, 1884 |
Gisortia is an extinct genus of cowries in the family Cypraeidae. It had several members growing to large sizes (gigantism) and developing ornamentation, typically as tubercles, flanges, or processes. The genus was likely sister to Vicetia (gastropod), which also developed very large species with ornamentation. The number of species in the genus is currently unresolved, although two species, Gisortia coombii and Gisortia tuberculosa, are accepted.[1][2] These two species are restricted to the Ypresian and Lutetian ages of the Eocene in Western Europe. They have been hypothesized to be low-metabolism, grazing snails likely focusing on nutrition-poor sponges or algae as food. Their ornamentation may have been a defensive adaptation against predators.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Dominici, Stefano; Fornasiero, Mariagabriella; Giusberti, Luca (2020-12-14). "The largest known cowrie and the iterative evolution of giant cypraeid gastropods". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 21893. Bibcode:2020NatSR..1021893D. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-78940-9. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7736312. PMID 33318588.
- ^ "MolluscaBase - Gisortia Jousseaume, 1884 †". www.molluscabase.org. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
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