Pusia cf. pyramidella ( Brocchi, 1814 )

Thivaiou, Danae, Harzhauser, Mathias & Koskeridou, Efterpi, 2019, Early Miocene Gastropods from the Felli Section (Proto-Mediterranean Sea NW Greece), Geodiversitas 41 (8), pp. 323-366 : 343-344

Pusia cf. pyramidella ( Brocchi, 1814)

(Fig. 6 B[1, 2])

cf. Voluta pyramidella Brocchi, 1814: 318, pl. 4, fig. 5.

cf. Pusia pyramidella – Landau et al. 2013: 215, pl. 34, figs 7-9; pl. 68, fig. 9 (cum syn.).

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Sample F11: AMPG ( IV) 2469-2472 (four specimens).

DIMENSIONS. — Maximum height: 3.20 mm.

DISTRIBUTION. — Early Miocene. Proto-Mediterranean Sea: Greece (this paper).

Early-Middle Miocene. North Sea Basin (A.W. Janssen 1984).

Middle Miocene. Proto-Mediterranean Sea: Turkey ( Landau et al. 2013).

Late Miocene. Proto-Mediterranean Sea: Italy ( Landau et al. 2013).

Early Pliocene. Western and central Mediterranean ( Landau et al. 2013).

Late Pliocene. Central Mediterranean ( Malatesta 1974; Landau et al. 2013).

REMARKS

Although the protoconchs of the recovered specimens are corroded, the sculpture and the overall shape of the shells are indicative of Pusia pyramidella. As Landau et al. (2013) mention, this species has many similarities with P. ebenus ( Lamarck, 1811) but differs in protoconch sculpture, a feature that cannot be assessed here. Most of the specimens from Felli bear ribs on early teleoconch whorls that dissipate and are absent on later whorls. All of the specimens are juveniles, showing the characteristic sculpture of the species on the first four teleoconch whorls.

A full list of synonyms and a discussion on related species is presented in detail in Landau et al. (2013). Due to the conchological similarities with Pusia ebenus ( Lamarck, 1811), which is assigned to Pusia (Ebenomitra) subgenus by Fedosov et al. (2017), we chose to include the present species in the genus Pusia with no certainty regarding its subgeneric affinities.

Superfamily CONOIDEA Fleming, 1822

REMARK

Conoidean gastropods are predatory carnivores ( Uribe et al. 2017); the family Mangeliidae includes infaunal species ( Vermeij 2017).

Figures

FIG. 6. — A1-A3, Costoanachis cf. terebralis (Grateloup, 1834), AMPG(IV) 2467; B1, B2, Pusia cf. pyramidella (Brocchi, 1814), AMPG(IV) 2469; C1-C4, Athleta rarispina (Lamarck, 1811), AMPG(IV) 2462; D1-D4, Mangelia (s.l.) sp.: D1, D2, AMPG(IV) 2474; D3, D4, AMPG(IV) 2475, detail of microsculpture (SEM images). Scale bars: A1, A2, B1, B2, D1, D2, 1 mm; C1-C4, 10 mm; D3, 300 μm; D4, 100 μm.