Conus argillicola ( Eichwald, 1830 )

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard, 2016, A revision of the Neogene Conidae and Conorbidae (Gastropoda) of the Paratethys Sea, Zootaxa 4210 (1), pp. 1-178 : 149

Conus argillicola ( Eichwald, 1830)

C. [onus] argillicola m.— Eichwald 1830: 222.

Conus argillicola — Eichwald 1852: plates captions, pl. 9, figs 2a–b. Con. argillicola m.— Eichwald 1853: 206.

Type material. Syntypes described by Eichwald (1830) from Salisze about 50 km NE of Ternopil ( Ukraine) (see map in Dubois de Montpéreux 1831) , syntype illustrated in Eichwald (1852, pl. 9, fig. 2). The specimens are most probably stored in the Zoological Museum of St. Petersburg ( Russia) but could not be detected; middle Miocene, Badenian (Langhian).

Discussion. Eichwald (1830, 1852, 1853) described and figured a medium-sized species (SL: c. 38 mm, MD: c. 18 mm) with a conical spire of weakly convex whorls with a deep suture and prominent spiral cords. Its last whorl develops a rounded shoulder and an elongate, weakly ventricose last whorl with a long and reflected siphonal canal. In the description Eichwald (1853) mentioned nodulose tubercles on the early spire whorls, which are not visible on the illustration.

Although Hall (1966) synonymized this species with Conus vindobonensis Hoernes & Auinger, 1879 , the two taxa are not very similar. Especially the elongate last whorl and the long siphonal canal exclude conspecificity with Conus s.l. vindobonensis . Moreover, the spiral cords on the spire whorls of C. s.l. vindobonensis are always much weaker. Bałuk (1997) treated Conus argillicola as a subjective junior synonym of Conus pyrula Brocchi, 1814 . The Pliocene Lautoconus pyrula , however, lacks spiral cords, is broader, and has rounded shoulders and very prominent and broad spiral cords on the base. The illustration of Eichwald (1852) does not correspond unambiguously to any other Paratethyan and Mediterranean species and the status of Conus argillicola remains unclear without observation of type specimens or new material.

Distribution in Paratethys. Badenian (middle Miocene): Carpathian Foredeep: Salisze at Tarnów ( Ukraine), Korytnica ( Poland) ( Eichwald 1830).