Gisortia

Gisortia
Fossil Gisortia tuberculosa shell from Ypresian (Eocene) aged sediments in Gan, France
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Cypraeidae
Genus:	† Gisortia Jousseaume, 1884
Synonyms
† Gisortia (Megalocypraea)F. A. Schilder, 1927 † † MegalocypraeaSchilder, 1927 † † MegalocypraeaF. A. Schilder, 1927 † † PseudogisortiaSchilder, 1941

Gisortia is an extinct genus of cowries in the family Cypraeidae. ^[1]

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 , which also developed very large species with ornamentation.

Species

The number of species in the genus is currently unresolved, although two species, Gisortia coombii and Gisortia tuberculosa, are accepted. ^{[2] [3]}

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. ^[2]

According to WoRMS, the following species are accepted:

• † Gisortia brevis Douvillé, 1920
• † Gisortia clarki Ingram, 1940
• † Gisortia coombii (J. De C. Sowerby, 1850)
• † Gisortia tuberculosa (Duclos, 1825)

• † Gisortia chevallieriCossmann, 1886 (taxon inquirendum)
• † Gisortia gigantea(Münster, 1841) (nomen dubium)

Synonyms

• † Gisortia americanaSchilder, 1930 synonym of † Gisortia tuberculosa(Duclos, 1825)(probable synonym)
• † Gisortia breviplicataF. A. Schilder, 1926 synonym of † Umbilia siphonata (Chapman, 1922) (junior subjective synonym)
• † Gisortia gennevauxiDoncieux, 1908 synonym of † Vicetia gennevauxi (Doncieux, 1908)(superseded combination)
• † Gisortia megalopteraLorenz, 2017 synonym of † Gisortia coombii(J. De C. Sowerby, 1850 )
• † Gisortia taiwanensisSchilder, 1930 synonym of † Gisortia tuberculosa(Duclos, 1825)
• † Gisortia thomasiOlsson, 1930 synonym of † Gisortia tuberculosa(Duclos, 1825)
• † Gisortia vicetianaFarrés & Staid-Staadt, 2009 synonym of † Vicetia bellardii (Bellardi, 1852)
• † Gisortia vicetiformis Farrés & Staid-Staadt, 2009 † synonym of † Gisortia vicetianaFarrés & Staid-Staadt, 2009:synonym of † Vicetia bellardii (Bellardi, 1852) (alternative original spelling)

References

1. MolluscaBase eds. (2025). MolluscaBase. Gisortia Jousseaume, 1884 †. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=952110 on 2025-02-02
2. 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.
3. "MolluscaBase - Gisortia Jousseaume, 1884 †". www.molluscabase.org. Retrieved 2025-01-26.

• Dolin L. & Aguerre O. (2016). "Les Cypraeidae et les Ovulidae (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda) du Cuisien (Yprésien moyen) du bassin de Paris (France)". Cossmanniana. 18: 2–37.

External links

• Jousseaume, F. (1884). "Division des Cypraeidae". Le Naturaliste. 6 (52): 414.