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ABSTRACT
In contrast to the immense effort that has been put into the geological survey and stratigraphic study of the Neogene of Bocas del Toro region (Panama), little research has been done on the systematics of this region's rich gastropod assemblages. This is the first paper dealing primarily with the Bocas Neogene gastropod assemblages (Strombidae) since the pioneer work of Olsson (1922). Neogene strombid assemblages of the Dominican Republic have recently been reviewed and updated, and, therefore, the Strombidae are a suitable starting point for the revision of the gastropod assemblages from the Neogene of Bocas del Toro. Six species of Strombus are described, three of them new: S. acanthospira n. sp., S. pugiloides, S. gatunensis, S. elegantissimus n. sp., S. vermeiji n. sp. and S. cf. floridanus.
INTRODUCTION
A GREAT deal of research has gone into the Neogene geology and stratigraphy of the Bocas del Toro Region (Figs. 1, 2), Caribbean Panama as part of the Panama Paleontology Project (PPP) because of its significance for understanding the timing and magnitude of the regional mass extinction event near the end of the Pliocene (Collins and Coates, 1999; Coates et al, 2003, 2005). In contrast to the immense effort that has been put into the geological survey and stratigraphie study of the Bocas area, however, little research has been done on the systematics of the rich gastropod assemblages. The most comprehensive work on these assemblages was accomplished by Olsson (1922), who described some of the taxa occurring in the Bocas area. Since then, species from the Bocas area have been mentioned, but seldom figured, by Woodring (1957-1973) in his works on the mollusks of the Canal Zone of Panama, by E. H. Vokes in her monographs of the Muricidae (e.g., Vokes, 1990), and a few others (e.g., Ingram, 1939). We are not aware of any taxonomic works on gastropods dealing primarily with the Bocas assemblages since Olsson (1922). We hope to redress this hiatus in our knowledge of the Caribbean Neogene assemblages in this paper dedicated to the gastropod family Strombidae and subsequent contributions.
The preliminary work, completed previously by the Panama Paleontology Project (Collins and Coates, 1999; Coates et al., 2003, 2005), in surveying and mapping the Neogene of the whole region, naming the...