Conus carlottae

Conus carlottae is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones.

Description

The shell of Conus carlottae attains a size of 40 mm. Under ultraviolet light, fossil specimens reveal a unique pattern of large polka dots, a coloration pattern that appears to be extinct among modern cone snails.

Distribution

This species is only known from fossils found in Neogene deposits of the Cibao Valley, northern Dominican Republic, specifically from the upper Miocene Cercado Formation and lower Pliocene Gurabo Formation, dating from approximately 6.6 to 4.8 million years ago.