The Genus Vasum (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in the New World

Abstract

The genus Vasum originated in the New World with the late Eocene species V. humerosum Vaughan.  The history of the genus is fairly well documented in the New World but the fossil record is poorly known in the Old World;  no species have been reported from mid-Miocene time until the Recent.  There are 13 Recent species of Vasum presently known, worldwide, and 23 fossil species. All of the New World species, both fossil (19) and Recent (6) are treated systematically, including three species herein described from the Miocene of Florida. These are:  V. jacksonense, n. sp., from the Choctawhatchee Formation; V. olssoni, n. sp., from the Pinecrest Beds; and V. chipolense. n. sp., from the Chipola Formation.