Monteiroconus daciae ( Hoernes & Auinger, 1879 )

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard, 2016, A revision of the Neogene Conidae and Conorbidae (Gastropoda) of the Paratethys Sea, Zootaxa 4210 (1), pp. 1-178 : 106-108

Monteiroconus daciae ( Hoernes & Auinger, 1879)

Figs 17 Q, 25A1–A3, 25B1–B3

Conus Mercati Brocc in Hörnes—Pereira da Costa 1866: 11 (partim, pl. 3, fig. 3 only) [non Monteiroconus mercati ( Brocchi, 1814) ].

[ Dendroconus ] [ Conus ] Daciae n. f.— Hoernes 1878a: 195 (nomen nudum).

Conus (Dendroconus) Daciae nov. form.— Hoernes & Auinger 1879: 21, pl. 3, fig. 1.

Conus (Dendroconus) Loroisi Kiener—Hoernes & Auinger 1879: 21 , pl. 3, fig. 5 [non Dendroconus loroisi ( Kiener, 1845) ].

[ Conus (Dendroconus) Berghausi ] varietà exloroisi Sacc. — Sacco 1893a: 8 [nov. nom. pro Conus loroisi in Hoernes & Auinger 1879 , pl. 3, fig. 5).

Conus (Lithoconus) mercati var. daciae ( Hoernes und Auinger, 1879)— Kojumdgieva & Strachimirov 1960: 211, pl. 50, fig. 1.

Conus (Lithoconus) planospira Erünal-Erentöz, 1958 — Hinculov 1968: 152, pl. 38, figs 10a–b.

Conus mercati daciae (Hoernes et Auinger) — Eremija 1971: 78, pl. 5, fig. 10.

Conus (Lithoconus) mercati miocaenicus [sic] Sacco—Nicorici 1972: 70, pl. 17, figs 1–2 [non Conus miocenicus Sacco, 1893 ].

Lithoconus planospira ( Erünal-Erentöz, 1958) — Kovács & Vicián 2013: 75, fig. 41.

Monteiroconus daciae ( Hoernes & Auinger, 1879) — Landau et al. 2013, 242, pl. 38, fig. 7; pl. 39, fig. 1; pl. 41, fig. 11; pl. 42, fig. 5; pl. 78, fig. 8; pl. 81, fig. 6 [cum syn.].

Type material. Syntype NHMW 1858 /0043/0002, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania), illustrated in Hoernes & Auinger (1879, pl. 3, fig. 1) ; syntype NHMW 1949 /0005/0002, Nemeşeşti ( Romania), illustrated in Hoernes & Auinger (1879, pl. 3, fig. 5) , holotype of Conus exloroisi Sacco, 1893 .

Studied material. Syntypes and 2 spec. NHMW 1856/0007/0001, 2 spec. NHMW 1856 /0007/0001, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania) ; 2 spec. NHMW 1848/003/003, 6 spec. NHMW 1930 /0006/0034, 1 NHMW 1970 /1396/0834, Ritzing ( Austria) ; 2 spec. NHMW 1856 /0002/0002, Grund ( Austria) ; 1 spec. NHMW 1862 /0032/0001, Pöls ( Austria); all middle Miocene, Badenian ( Langhian ).

Illustrated material. Figs 25A 1 –A3: syntype, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania), SL: 85.9 mm, MD: 64.5 mm, NHMW 1858/0043/0002, illustrated in Hoernes & Auinger (1879, pl. 3, fig. 1); Figs 25 B1–B3, 17Q: Ritzing ( Austria): SL: 81.9 mm, MD: 56.1 mm, NHMW 1930/0006/0034.

Revised description. Moderately large to large shells with a maximum height of 87 mm. Spire depressed to flat; adapical part of spire whorls flat, striate; abapical part weakly convex, often elevated, resulting in weakly concave cross section. Subsutural flexure of medium depth, moderately curved, strongly asymmetrical. Last whorl broad, straight-sided, rapidly contracting, not constricted at base. Position of maximum diameter slightly below rounded shoulder. Aperture wide, broadening abapically, protruding above shoulder adapically in well preserved, fully grown specimens. Siphonal canal short, straight, wide; siphonal fasciole broad, rounded. Spiral grooves on base, rarely extending to mid-whorl.

Shell measurements and ratios. n = 14 adult and subadult specimens: largest specimen: SL: 86.8 mm, MD: 64.5 mm, mean SL: 67.8 mm (σ = 13.3), mean MD: 48.2 mm (σ = 9.1), spire angle: µ = 154° (σ = 12.3°), last whorl angle: µ = 42.2° (σ = 2.3°), LW: µ = 1.41 (σ = 0.07), RD: µ = 0.73 (σ = 0.03), PMD: µ = 0.9 (σ = 0.02), RSH: µ = 0.03 (σ = 0.02).

Discussion. The larger syntype of Monteiroconus daciae is a slightly worn specimen with abraded base, fasciole and adapical part of the aperture. Therefore, it lacks the characteristic protruding adapical aperture. This specimen is also extraordinarily large and broad compared to other specimens. However, the specimens from the Karaman Basin of Turkey attain an even greater maximum size (height 104.3 mm; Landau et al. 2013). We were not able to see a colour pattern in the Paratethyan specimens under UV light, however, a pattern is present in the Karaman specimens, consisting of axial comma-shaped reddish stripes on the spire and irregular, elongate, oblong blotches arranged in three bands, coalescent into broad axial flammules on some specimens ( Landau et al. 2013).

Conus exloroisi Sacco, 1893 , established for a single specimen from Lăpugiu de Sus, has a weak constriction of the base and a slight angulation on the shoulder but does not differ significantly from M. daciae . Consequently, Conus exloroisi Sacco, 1893 is considered a subjective junior synonym of Conus daciae Hoernes & Auinger, 1897 . Conus planospira Erünal-Erentöz, 1958 , from the Serravallian of the Karaman Basin in Turkey, is also treated as subjective junior synonym of Conus daciae Hoernes & Auinger, 1897 by Landau et al. (2013), which is followed herein.

This species is probably much more widespread as suggested by the rather few published records; it seems to be misidentified in many collections. Most of the Paratethyan specimens in the NHMW collection were misidentified as Conus mercati Brocchi, 1814 . This Pliocene species differs in its elevate spire (see Hall 1966; Pinna & Spezia 1978). Davoli (1972, pl. 19, fig. 8) mixed Monteiroconus daciae with Kalloconus betulinoides ( Lamarck, 1810) , which differs in its elevated spire.

Paleoenvironment. The locality Ritzing represents a shallow sublittoral environment (Harzhauser et al. 2014). The deeper water occurrences from Lăpugiu de Sus may represent allochthonous specimens transported by storms into basinal settings (own observations M.H.).

Distribution in Paratethys. Badenian (middle Miocene): Vienna Basin: Bad Vöslau ( Austria), Oberpullendorf Basin: Ritzing ( Austria) (Hörnes 1851; Hoernes & Auinger 1879); North Alpine Foreland Basin: Grund ( Austria); Styrian Basin: Pöls ( Austria) ( Hoernes & Auinger 1879); Pannonian Basin: Letkés ( Hungary) ( Kovács & Vicián 2013); Transylvanian Basin: Nemeșești, Timiș, Lăpugiu de Sus, Coşteiu de Sus ( Romania) ( Hoernes & Auinger 1879; Boettger 1906); Caransebeş-Mehadia Basin: Valea Bela Reca ( Romania) ( Hinculov 1968); Dacian Basin: Opanec ( Bulgaria) ( Kojumdgieva & Strachimirov 1960), southern Pannonian Basin: Relievac at Prnjavor ( Bosnia and Herzegovina) ( Eremija 1971).

Proto-Mediterranean Sea and northeastern Atlantic: Serravallian (middle Miocene): Karaman Basin, Turkey ( Landau et al. 2013). Tortonian (late Miocene): Cacela Basin, Portugal (Pereira da Costa 1866); Montegibbio ( Italy) ( Davoli 1972).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Map of central and south – eastern Europe showing the geographic position of selected localities with rich Conidae diversities (modified from Kováč et al. 2007). 1: Korytnica (Poland), 2: Podhorce, Zukowce, Biłka, Tarnopol (Ukraine), 3: Grund, Guntersdorf, Immendorf (Austria), 4: Steinebrunn (Austria), Mikulov (Czech Republic), 5: Gainfarn, Enzesfeld, Baden, Bad Vöslau, Baden-Sooß (Austria), 6: Ritzing (Austria), 7: Weitendorf, Pöls (Austria), 8: Letkés, Szob (Hungary), 9: Borsodbóta (Hungary), 10: Várpalota (Hungary), 11: Hidas (Hungary), 12: Coşteiu de Sus, Lăpugiu de Sus (Romania).

FIGURE 25 A 1 – A 3. Monteiroconus daciae (Hoernes & Auinger, 1879), Lăpugiu de Sus (Romania), NHMW 1858 / 0043 / 0002, syntype. 25 B 1 – B 3. Monteiroconus daciae (Hoernes & Auinger, 1879), Ritzing (Austria). NHMW 1930 / 0006 / 0034. 25 C 1 – C 3. Monteiroconus girondicus (Peyrot, 1931), Bad Vöslau (Austria), NHMW 2010 / 0004 / 1569 a. 25 D 1 – D 3. Monteiroconus girondicus (Peyrot, 1931), Bad Vöslau (Austria), NHMW 2010 / 0004 / 1569 b. 25 E 1 – E 2,. Monteiroconus mojsvari (Hoernes & Auinger, 1879), Pötzleinsdorf (Austria), NHMW 1847 / 0037 / 0024. 25 F 1 – F 2. Monteiroconus mojsvari (Hoernes & Auinger, 1879), Gainfarn (Austria), NHMW 1853 / 0010 / 0001, syntype.