Conus davolii (Psarras, Merle & Koskeridou, 2022)
Shell description
Shell small (SL max.: 22.1 mm) and
elongated. Early spire whorls worn out, straight, conical. Later spire whorls
slightly convex, with conical outline. Subsutural flexure moderately deep,
weakly curved, moderately asymmetrical (Fig. 40M). Suture slightly incised.
Shoulder rounded, with maximum diameter below shoulder. Aperture narrow,
straight, with long canal. Siphonal fasciole twisted. No spiral grooves on last
whorls (1).
Description of colour pattern
The pattern consists of small fluorescent
blotches, and evenly arranged fading spiral lines bearing dots at almost equal
distances from each other (1).
Etymology
A species named after Davoli, who first figured that species (1).
Remarks
Conus davolii sp. nov. is a characteristic
torpedo-shaped species (Fig. 37), which has a very delicate colour pattern. Its
morphology is unique in the Greek collection (Table 16). Two Italian specimens
from the Tortonian of Montegibbio have been misidentified as Conus
clavatulus d’Orbigny 1852 by Davoli (1972). On the other hand, their rare
torpedo-shaped morphology is similar to that of the Cretan specimen. Despite
the fact that we did not study the patterns of the two specimens, the Italian
specimens and the Greek specimen are morphologically conspecific. In view of
this deduction and because of lack of more material from the type locality, we
designate the two specimens figured by Davoli (1972: pl. 4 figs 5, 17) as the
paratypes.
This species could be misinterpreted as a
juvenile Conus (Lautoconus) ictini sp. nov. The morphology
of this species is different from Conus (Lautoconus) ictini sp.
nov., as the spire whorls are not straight, because there are no spiral grooves
on the anterior part of the last whorl. The colour pattern is also different
from Conus (Lautoconus) ictini sp. nov., as there is no
brick-like pattern, but a dotted pattern on the spiral lines. The species could
be compared to Conus praelongus Hoernes & Auinger, 1879, but,
morphologically, the spire of Conus davolii sp. nov. is not as elevated
as in Conus praelongus (see Harzhauser & Landau 2016: fig. 34b–d).
The colour pattern is different as well, with Conus praelongus
bearing a dashed pattern.
Conus olivaeformis Hoernes & Auinger, 1879 is another
species with a similar morphology. It differs in the shallow subsutural
flexure, the subangulated shoulder and the inferred (Harzhauser & Landau
2016) colour pattern of densely spaced spiral dashes. The specimen of Kovács
& Balázs (2015) is probably Conus olivaeformis, but without UV light
results, we cannot be certain. Conus davolii sp. nov. resembles the
extant Conus (Hermes) nussatella Linnaeus, 1758, in the
torpedo-shaped whorl and the colour pattern of spiral rows of continuous dashes
and spots on them, with alternating blotches. The ridges on the last whorl are
a feature not present on the studied specimen; therefore, we do not assign the
studied species to Conus (Hermes) Montfort, 1810 and do not
include this species to any subgenus until more material will have been studied (1).
Stratigraphic range
?Langhian of Hungary (Kovács & Balázs 2015); Tortonian of Greece
(Messara Basin, Crete) and Italy (Montegibbio) (Davoli 1972) (1).
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Fig. 37. Conus davolii sp. nov. holotype MNHN.F.A83091 from the Tortonian of Filippi,
Crete (Greece), in apertural and abapertural views under natural (A1–A3, A6) and UV
light. Scale bars = 1 cm |
Bibliografia Consultata