Paleonet: New Publication Available

[Paula M Mikkelsen]

Paleontological Research Institution is proud to announce publication of a
new issue in *Bulletins of American Paleontology*.

*Neogene Paleontology of the Northern Dominican Republic. 23. Strombid
Gastropods (Genera Strombus and Lobatus; Mollusca: Gastropoda: Strombidae)
of the Cibao Valley, *by James Robert Freiheit and Dana H. Geary, *Bulletins
of American Paleontology* no. 376 (56 pp., 9 pls., ISBN 978-0-87710-486-5,
softcover), US $40.00, available after 5 May 2009.
Abstract. Gastropods of the family Strombidae are well-known and important
constituents of modern tropical marine communities. The biology of several
modern species has been thoroughly investigated due to their economic value
as a human food resource. Unlike many gastropods, strombids undergo
pseudo-determinate growth; they therefore present intriguing possibilities
for investigation of size-related patterns of change. Unfortunately, they
also display a wide degree of intraspecific morphologic variation, making
reliable determination of species identity difficult. In this paper, we
examine members of this family from the late Miocene and early Pliocene
deposits of the Cibao Valley, located in the northwestern portion of the
Dominican Republic on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. After brief
descriptions of the general geologic setting of the Cibao Valley and the
biology of modern strombids, we delineate the observed geographic and
stratigraphic ranges for species of *Strombus *and *Lobatus *in the Cibao
Valley. At least 11 species of strombids have been reported from the
Dominican Republic. Based on the high degree of intraspecific morphologic
variation common in these genera and upon examination of individual
specimens, we synonomize several older names and recognize only five species
in two genera from the Cibao sequence: *S. bifrons, S. proximus, L.
haitensis, L. galliformis, *and *L. dominator*. We describe some aspects of
strombid paleoecology and summarize spatiotemporal patterns of distribution.
Differences exist between modern strombid populations and our collections of
Miocene Dominican ones; strombids of the Cibao Valley are in general smaller
and appear to have occupied somewhat different habitats than those of their
modern relatives.

Publication is imminent and we are now accepting pre-publication orders.
Please email me directly for a proforma invoice or order online at
www.priweb.org. Members of PRI and booksellers should contact me first to
receive discount prices for this and other publications of PRI.

*Bulletins of American Paleontology* is one of North America's oldest
still-publishing monographic series. Print and electronic subscriptions of
two issues per year are available to individuals and institutions. Please
inquire at publications at museumoftheearth.org or at the address below.

Paula M. Mikkelsen
Editor
********************************************
Paula M. Mikkelsen, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Science
and Director of Publications
Paleontological Research Institution
1259 Trumansburg Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
Tel. (607) 273-6623, ext. 20
Fax (607) 273-6620
email  pmm37 at cornell.edu

"No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's
draft."  -H. G. Wells

See "Seashells of Southern Florida: Living Marine Mollusks of the Florida
Keys and Adjacent Regions: Bivalves,"
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8484.html

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