Iredalea Oliver, 1915

Morassi, Mauro & Bonfitto, Antonio, 2013, Four new African turriform gastropods (Mollusca: Conoidea), Zootaxa 3710 (3), pp. 271-280 : 273

Genus Iredalea Oliver, 1915

Type species: Iredalea subtropicalis Oliver, 1915

Remarks. Kilburn (1988) remarked the close resemblance in shell characters of members of Iredalea Oliver, 1915 and the monotypic Crassopleura Monterosato, 1884 , based on Pleurotoma maravignae Bivona Ant. in Bivona And., 1838 from the eastern Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea, but suggested that the two genera can be distinguished on the basis of radular features. More recently Scarponi & Della Bella (2004), while discussing Crassopleura maravignae , noted that two forms of this species can be recognized on the basis of the number of axial ribs, namely a Pliocene form bearing 14–18 axial ribs on the last whorl and a Pleistocene one with more numerous ribs (21–25). The authors also remarked that the parietal pad of C. maravignae tends to form a moderately deep, narrow and posteriorly directed spout with the end of the outer lip. According to Scarponi & Della Bella (2004) this feature, not observed in members of Iredalea , supports recognition of Crassopleura and Iredalea as distinct genera. However, in the Pliocene specimen of C. maravignae (Scarponi & Della Bella, 2004: plate 1, fig. 2), the posterior spout is rather weak or even absent as in the recent specimens figured in the WoRMS register (Appeltans et al., 2012) (accessed at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=139659). Thus, this stated difference is, in our opinion, of very doubtful value. In this paper Iredalea is retained as a valid genus in accord with Kilburn (1988). In addition to the Recent species revised by Kilburn (1988) and recognized in the WoRMS register, Scarponi & Della Bella (2004: 24) recognized Drillia (Cymatosyrinx) stoppanii Cipolla, 1914 from the Pliocene of Italy as a fossil member of the genus Iredalea .