Helminthia Handmann, 1882

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard, 2019, Turritellidae (Gastropoda) of the Miocene Paratethys Sea with considerations about turritellid genera, Zootaxa 4681 (1), pp. 1-136 : 37-38

Genus Helminthia Handmann, 1882

Type species: Turbo vermicularis Brocchi, 1814 , subsequent designation by Landau et al. (2013: 62). Miocene, Italy.

Remarks. The taxon Helminthia was introduced by Handmann (1882) as subgenus of Turritella . Handmann (1882: 212) provided a Latin diagnosis (‘ Testa anfractibus toto-carinatis, carinis rotundatis, vermicularibus, profunde incises ’) and listed three species: Turritella (Helminthia) vermicularis Brocchi, 1814 , T. (H.) cataphracta Handmann, 1882 and T. (H.) enzesfeldensis Handmann, 1882 . The latter two species are nomina dubia. The type material is lost, and the species have never been illustrated. Although the genus-group name was available, subsequent authors neglected Handmann’s paper. Sacco (1895) placed Turritella vermicularis in Haustator de Montfort, 1810 , and Cossmann (1912: 115) supported this placement based on the similarities in lateral sinus morphology. Landau et al. (2013: 62), however, pointed out that the order of appearance of the spiral cords of Haustator (C-B-A) differs from that of Helminthia (B-C-A) and designated Turbo vermicularis Brocchi, 1814 as type species of Helminthia . In addition, we consider a sculpture of broad, blunt spiral cords and a delicate sculpture of spiral threads covering also the primary cords as typical for Helminthia . The base is typically nearly flat, the lateral sinus is moderately deep to deep with an adapical position of the vertex. Inner lirae may be absent ( H. tricincta ) or present ( H. vermicularis ).

Based on the species placed herein in Helminthia , the genus occurred in the Proto-Mediterranean/Mediterranean and Paratethys seas from the early Miocene to early Pleistocene and reached the northeastern Atlantic during late Miocene and Pliocene times. The type species Helminthia vermicularis is still living along the coast of West Africa ( Marche-Marchad 1960).