A revision of the Neogene Conidae and Conorbidae (Gastropoda) of the Paratethys Sea Harzhauser, Mathias Landau, Bernard Zootaxa 2016 4210 1 1 178 68c4ce74-e281-4575-8787-6441c63d60d8 Monterosato, 1923 Monterosato 1923 [237,621,836,862] Gastropoda Conidae Lautoconus CoL Animalia Neogastropoda 73 74 Mollusca genus  Type species (by original designation):  Conus mediterraneusHwass in Bruguière, 1792. Recent, Mediterranean Sea.  Note. Tucker & Tenorio (2009)gave few shell features by which to distinguish members of the genus  Lautoconus Monterosato, 1923. The shells are turgid in shape with convex sides. The protoconch is paucispiral. The whorl tops are ornamented with cords that reach the middle spire whorls and often persist. The subsutural flexure is shallow to moderate in depth. Puillandre et al. (2014a, b) synonymized  Varioconusda Motta, 1991with  Lautoconus Monterosato, 1923based on molecular data. According to Tucker & Tenorio (2009)the genus  Varioconusda Motta, 1991is characterised by shells with smooth spire whorls, a rounded, indistinct shoulder, a shallow subsutural sinus and a paucispiral protoconch. For their molecular phylogeny Puillandre et al. (2014a, b) analysed numerous species, traditionally placed in  Lautoconusbut only two species, which are listed as  Varioconusby Tucker & Tenorio (2009)(  Conus xicoi Röckel, 1987and  C. franciscoi Rolán & Röckel, 2000). Unfortunately,  Conus variegatus Kiener, 1845, the typespecies of  Varioconus, is missing from their analysis. Therefore, the synonymization remains debateable. The main difference in shell characters listed by Tucker & Tenorio (2009)is the presence of cords on  Lautoconusand their absence in  Varioconus. The characteristic pyriform outline of most species placed in  Varioconusis not a distinguishing feature but may also be developed by  Lautoconusspecies such as  Lautoconus mercator(Linnaeus, 1758). The radula morphologies as described by Tucker & Tenorio (2009)do not require a separation and their West African geographic distribution is identical. Consequently, we follow Puillandre et al. (2014a, b) and treat  Varioconusas subjective junior synonym of  Lautoconus. The genus  Lautoconusis represented in the middle Miocene Paratethys Sea by several species, which comprise moderately small to moderately large and medium-wide to wide shells with low to medium high spires; spiral cords on the sutural ramp may be present or replaced by faint spiral threads. The subsutural flexures are variable in depth, ranging from very shallow to deep, are usually moderately curved and moderately asymmetrical. To our knowledge, none of the extant  Lautoconus(and  Varioconus) species has a tuberculate early spire or develops nodes. Therefore, we exclude tuberculate species from  Lautoconus.