Conus (Lautoconus) sp. (Thivaiou et al., 2019)

Description ⁽¹⁾

Shell inflated, sides slightly convex. Protoconch not preserved. Moderately low spire; whorl tops with 3 cords; last whorl with prominent, slightly rounded shoulder. Spiral sculpture in adapical half of the shell, consists of irregularly-spaced striae. Aperture poorly preserved, appears moderately wide. Colour pattern consists of irregularly-spaced dots of variable sizes.

Remarks ⁽¹⁾

The specimen recovered in the present material although incomplete, shows some characters that would place it closer to the genus Lautoconus Monterosato, 1923: these are mainly the whorl tops with sculpture, the shouldered last whorl and the spiral sculpture at the base of the shell. Some doubts arise since the early teleoconch spiral structure cannot be assessed and the subsutural flexure cannot be measured due to the preservation of the specimen. This does not allow for a certain attribution to the genus Lautoconus. Nevertheless, the present specimen has similar spiral and whorl top sculpture with the type specimen of the genus. The species seems to have only a primary colour pattern, with the bands of dots being equidistant whereas spirally, their disposition is irregular (distance between each dot). The pattern is comparable to that of Kalloconus berghausi (Michelotti, 1847) from the middle Miocene of Turkey as illustrated in Landau et al. (2013).

Distribution. — Early Miocene. Proto-Mediterranean Sea: Greece ⁽¹⁾.


Lautoconus sp. ⁽¹⁾ AMPG(IV) 2473 26,0 x 14,5 mm. Pentalofos Formation, which consists of sandstone sediments of late Oligocene (Chattian) to the early Miocene (late Aquitanian-Burdigalian) age East of the village of Felli, SE of Grevena City, by the river Aliakmo	2. Monteiroconus mercati (Brocchi, 1814)⁽³⁾ NHMW 1847/0058/0605 locality 17, Seyithasan height 100.0 mm

3. Monteiroconus mercati (Brocchi, 1814) ⁽³⁾ NHMW 1847/0058/0610 locality 17, Seyithasan height 77.1 mm	4. Monteiroconus mercati (Brocchi, 1814) ⁽³⁾ NHMW 1847/0058/0611 locality 17, Seyithasan height 63.3 mm

Age, morphology and color pattern suggest that it may be a specimen of the group to which Conus antiquus, Conus mercati and Conus pulcher belong.


Lautoconus sp. ⁽¹⁾ AMPG(IV) 2473	Conus mercati var. ligeriana mm. 47 Aquitanien (Lower Miocene) – St. Martin d’Oney

Conus (Monteiroconus) tsampikaensis n. sp. ⁽²⁾ the Pleistocene of Rhodes (Greece)