Plagioconus

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard, 2016, A revision of the Neogene Conidae and Conorbidae (Gastropoda) of the Paratethys Sea, Zootaxa 4210 (1), pp. 1-178 : 129-131

Plagioconus austriaconoe (Sacco, 1893)

Figs 30 F, 31A1–A3, 31B1–B3

Conus Noe Brocc. —Hörnes 1851: 27, pl. 3, figs 1a–c [non Conus noe Brocchi, 1814 ].

Conus (Chelyconus) Noe Brocc. Var. — Hoernes & Auinger 1879: 43.

Conus (Leptoconus) Puschi Michti. — Hoernes & Auinger 1879: 34 (partim), pl. 5, fig. 7.

[ Conus ] Chelyconus austriaconoe Sacc. — Sacco 1893b: 85 [nov. nom. pro. Conus noe in Hörnes 1851 , pl. 3, fig. 1].

[ Conus (Chelyconus) ] pseudopuschi Sacc. — Sacco 1893b: 60 (nov. nom. pro Conus puschi in Hoernes & Auinger 1879 , pl. 5, fig. 7).

Conus (Chelyconus) noe Brocchi—Chira & Voia 2001: 156 , pl. 3, figs 2a–b.

Plagioconus marii (Sacco, 1893) — Kovács & Vicián 2013: 81 (partim), fig. 108 [non Plagioconus marii (Sacco, 1893) ].

non Conus (Chelyconus) austriaconoe Sacco—Kautsky 1925: 146 , pl. 10, fig. 16 [= Lautoconus clavatulus (d’Orbigny, 1852) ]. non Conus (Chelyconus) austriaconoae Sacco 1893 —Kojumdgieva in Kojumdgieva & Strachimirov 1960: 212, pl. 50, fig. 2 [= Plagioconus elatus ( Michelotti, 1847) ].

Type material. Holotype: NHMW 1843 /0032/0026, Baden ( Austria), illustrated in Hörnes (1851, pl. 3, fig. 1).

Studied material. Holotype and 2 spec. NHMW A 1612, 4 spec. NHMW 2013 /0300/0526, Baden-Sooß ( Austria), 1 spec . NHMW1869/0001/0423, 1 spec. NHMW 1863 /0015/0399, Forchtenau ( Austria), 2 spec . NHMW 1868 /0001/0382, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania); middle Miocene, Badenian ( Langhian ).

Illustrated material. Figs 30 F, 31A1–A3: Baden-Sooß ( Austria): SL: 92.7 mm, MD: 35.7 mm, NHMW 2013/ 0300/0526; Figs 31 B1–B3: Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania): SL: 76.6 mm, MD: 32.5 mm, NHMW 1868/0001/0382.

Revised description. Large club-shaped shell, up to 94 mm in height with tall mammillate-cyrtoconoid spire. Earliest spire whorls strongly pointed; spire whorls broad, weakly convex but of bulgy appearance due to the deeply incised suture. Very faint spiral threads on early whorls; weak beads above suture, rarely preserved. Last whorl with broadly rounded shoulder; subsutural flexure deep, strongly curved, strongly asymmetrical. Position of maximum diameter some distance below upper suture; straight sided to weakly constricted in middle part, moderately constricted at base. Fasciole long, twisted and demarcated by deep and broad groove from narrow plait. Siphonal canal long, slightly recurved. Aperture narrow, widening anteriorly. Sculpture consisting of spiral threads on last whorl, strengthening on lower half; spiral threads interrupted by growth lines causing a wavy pattern. Colour pattern under UV light consisting of weak spirals of speckles on last whorl.

Shell measurements and ratios. Only two shells are complete, all others lack the siphonal canal; for these species the ratios are: largest specimen: SL: 92.7 mm, MD: 35.7 mm, last whorl angle: µ = 23/28°, LW: µ = 2.6/2.4, RD: µ = 0.47/0.52, PMD: µ = 0.91/0.89, RSH: µ = 0.19/0.18.

Discussion. The specimens display some variability concerning spire height, but the conspicuous club-shaped outline and large size allow this species to be easily separated from other Paratethyan cones shells. Plagioconus austriaconoe is reminiscent of P. clavatulus (d’Orbigny, 1852) , from the European early and middle Miocene, and is probably closely related (see Peyrot 1931; Hall 1966; Janssen 1984). Both develop convex spires with markedly pointed early spire and have broadly rounded shoulders. A separation is based on the higher spire, the bulgy spire whorls, the more elongate last whorl and the lower position of the maximum diameter of P. austriaconoe . Conus pseudopuschi Sacco, 1893 was based on a single strongly fragmented and slightly deformed specimen from offshore clays of the Vienna Basin. The spire is largely destroyed except for parts of the last three whorls. We consider this specimen to represent a P. austriaconoe with somewhat deeper concavity below the adsutural swelling. Therefore, Conus pseudopuschi is a subjective junior synonym of Plagioconus austriaconoe .

Paleoenvironment. Plagioconus austriaconoe is a rare species, which was found so far only in offshore clays.

Distribution in Paratethys. Badenian (middle Miocene): Vienna Basin: Baden ( Austria) ( Hoernes & Auinger 1879); Eisenstadt-Sopron Basin: Forchtenau ( Austria) ( Sieber 1956); Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep: Grund ( Austria); Pannonian Basin: Letkés ( Hungary) ( Kovács & Vicián 2013); Transylvanian Basin: Lăpugiu de Sus, Coşteiu de Sus ( Romania) ( Boettger 1906; Chira & Voia 2001).

Figures

FIGURE 31 A 1 – A 3. Plagioconus austriaconoe (Sacco, 1893), Baden-Sooß (Austria), NHMW 2013 / 0300 / 0526. 31 B 1 – B 3. Plagioconus austriaconoe (Sacco, 1893), Lăpugiu de Sus (Romania), NHMW 1868 / 0001 / 0382. 31 C 1 – C 3. Plagioconus bellissimus nov. sp., Lăpugiu de Sus (Romania), NHMW 1874 / 0025 / 0002 a, holotype. 31 D 1 – D 2. Plagioconus bellissimus nov. sp., Lăpugiu de Sus (Romania), NHMW 1874 / 0025 / 0002 b, paratype. 31 E 1 – E 2. Plagioconus bellissimus nov. sp., Lăpugiu de Sus (Romania), NHMW 1890 / 0001 / 0012 a, paratype. 31 F 1 – F 3. Plagioconus bellissimus nov. sp., Letkés (Hungary), private collection Anton Breitenberger. 31 G 1 – G 5. Plagioconus breitenbergeri nov. sp., Letkés (Hungary), NHMW 2016 / 0041 / 0001, holotype. 31 H 1 – H 2. Plagioconus breitenbergeri nov. sp., Letkés (Hungary), NHMW 2016 / 0041 / 0002, paratype.