Califrapana n. gen., is proposed for California late Oligocene to early Miocene muricids attributed previously to the possibly Paleocene to modern western Pacific and Indian oceans genus Rapana. Four fossil species have been assigned to Rapana in the eastern Pacific. One of these species, R. perrini Clark and Arnold (1923), should be placed in another genus, the other species Purpura vaquerosensis Arnold (1907), R. imperialis Hertlein and Jordan (1927), and R. serrai Wiedey (1928) are synonymized here with the morphologically variable species Califrapana vaquerosensis n. comb. We confirm C. vaquerosensis is an index fossil for the lower and middle “Vaqueros” California provincial molluscan stage of late Oligocene to early Miocene age in southern California and Bája California, México, although the lack of numerical dating and the misuse of lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic names had made that difficult to determine. Califrapana is distinguishable from similar genera by 1) its heavier shell, 2) an aperture that is pointed at its anterior and posterior ends, 3) more numerous fine to coarse spiral cords on the ultimate whorl, 4) less numerous nodes at the top of the ultimate whorl, which are commonly larger and more pronounced, and 5) the siphonal fasciole, which is large and broad, with a large, open channel. |
