Volutilithes Swainson, 1831

Merle, Didier, Pacaud, Jean-Michel, Métais, Grégoire, Bartolini, Annachiara, Lashari, Rafiq A., Brohi, Imdad A., Solangi, Sarfraz H., Marivaux, Laurent & Welcomme, Jean-Loup, 2014, Volutidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of the Lakhra Formation (Earliest Eocene, Sindh, Pakistan): systematics, biostratigraphy and paleobiogeography, Zootaxa 3826 (1), pp. 101-138 : 126

Genus Volutilithes Swainson, 1831

Type species. Voluta muricina Lamarck, 1803 (Middle Eocene, Paris Basin, France) designated here (Art. 70.3.2, ICZN 1999).

Comments. Swainson (1831) discussed Voluta muricina Lamarck, 1803 , for which he introduced the new genus Volutilithes . His description, the cross-reference to the ‘ Tableau encyclopédique’ ( Lamarck 1798, pl. 383, fig. 1) [in which V. muricina is illustrated], his own figure 1 entitled “ muricina “ and the comparison with Volutilithes pertusa Swainson, 1831 indicate unambiguously that this author considered V. m u r i c i na to be the type species of Volutilithes . Unfortunately, Swainson (1831) designated Voluta musicalis Lamarck, 1803 as the type species (by original designation) of Volutilithes . Voluta musicalis Lamarck, 1803 [also the type species of Pseudaulicina Chavan in Furon & Kouriatchy, 1948] is morphologically very different from the two species ( V. muricina and V. pertusa ) illustrated by Swainson (1831) to represent his new genus Volutilithes , and Swainson’s designation appeared to subsequent authors to be an error ( Dall 1906; Wenz 1943; Korobkov 1955). Consequently, the type species was originally misidentified. In addition, Swainson (1840: 318, fig. 81e) increased this confusion by designating Conus spinosus Linnaeus, 1758 (erroneously) as the type species of Volutilithes .

Later, Newton (1906) introduced Volutospina for Conus spinosus Linnaeus, 1758 considering correctly that the secondary designation by Swainson (1840) was not correct. On the other hand, Dall (1906: 143), Wenz (1943: 1328), and Korobkov (1955: 310) did not respect the original designation of Swainson (1831) in subsequently designating Voluta muricina as the type species of Volutilithes and this designation cannot be considered to be valid, even if it seems scientifically logical.

Following article 70.3.2 ( ICZN 1999) concerning the case of misidentified type species, we select as type species the species that will, in our judgment, best serve stability and universality. Therefore, we designate here Voluta muricina Lamarck, 1803 as the type species of Volutilithes , because this species, discussed and illustrated by Swainson (1831: pl. 53, fig. 1) was misidentified as Voluta musicalis Lamarck, 1803 in the original designation. Eopsephaea Fischer, 1883 (type species: Voluta muricina Lamarck, 1803 by monotypy) becomes a junior objective synonym of Volutilithes .