Contortia tortoniana ( Sacco, 1894 ) Harzhauser & Landau, 2012

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard, 2012, A revision of the Neogene Cancellariid Gastropods of the Paratethys Sea 3472, Zootaxa 3472, pp. 1-71 : 25-27

Contortia tortoniana ( Sacco, 1894) nov. comb.

Figs 6C 1–C 3, 6D 1–D 3

Cancellaria Bellardii Micht. —Hörnes 1854: 314, pl. 34, fig. 18 (non Cancellaria Bellardii Michelotti, 1847 ).

Cancellaria Saccoi nob.— Hoernes & Auinger 1890: 274 pars.

Cancellaria (Bonellitia) evulsa var. tortoniana — Sacco 1894: 46.

Admete (Bonellitia) evulsa Sol. — Sieber 1936: 100 pars [non Cancellaria evulsa Solander in Brander, 1766].

Cancellaria (Merica) beyrichi var. saccoi ( Hoernes et Auinger 1890) — Kojumdgieva & Strachimirov 1960: 162, pl. 42, fig. 16 [non Cancellaria saccoi Hoernes & Auinger 1890 ].

Cancellaria (Merica) contorta aff. gelriana subsp. nov.— Janssen 1972: 88, pl. 8, fig. 4.

Cancellaria (Merica) jansseni nom. n. — Bałuk 1997: 44, pl. 14, fig. 1.

Cancellaria (Merica) jansseni Bałuk, 1997 — Bałuk 2006: 213.

Type material. NHM Vienna ( Austria); see below for details .

Studied material. 3 spec. Baden ( Austria) NHMW 1846 /0037/0296; 2 spec. Gainfarn-Enzesfeld (mixed lot) ( Austria) NHMW 1851 /0013/0056.

Illustrated material. Figs 6C 1–C 3: specimen illustrated in Hörnes (1854, pl. 34, fig. 18), Baden ( Austria), height: 23.7 mm, width: 15.2 mm, NHMW 1846/0037/0296 (= holotype of Cancellaria (Merica) jansseni Bałuk, 1997 ). Figs 6D 1–D 3: specimen illustrated in Janssen (1972) as Cancellaria (Merica) contorta aff. gelriana subsp. nov., Gainfarn or Enzesfeld ( Austria), height: 24.8 mm, width: 13.8 mm, NHMW 1851/0013/0056,

Discussion. This species was placed in Merica (as subgenus) by Janssen (1972) and Bałuk (2006); the distinct axial sculpture, however, suggests a placement in Contortia . This high spired species has strongly convex whorls. The sculpture comprises narrow axial ribs crossed by prominent primary spiral cords with a slightly weaker secondary thread between each pair of primaries; tertiary threads appear on the last whorl. The strongly excavated columella bears three oblique folds of which the anterior two tend to amalgamate close to the siphonal canal, giving a bifurcate appearance.

Bałuk (1997) introduced Cancellaria jansseni as new name for the shell illustrated as fig. 18 in Hörnes (1854, pl. 34) which was erroneously identified by Hörnes (1854) as Cancellaria bellardii Michelotti. Bałuk (1997) followed Janssen (1984a), who referred to that specimen as Cancellaria contorta aff. gelriana Janssen, 1972, indirectly indicating that this specimen might require a new name. Both, Janssen (1984a) and Bałuk (1997) overlooked that Sacco (1894) had already introduced the name tortoniana as new name for this very specimen (see Petit & Harasewych 2005). Although not very clearly formulated in Italian, Sacco (1894) discussed that this specimen represents a “varietà” of its own for which the name tortoniana “might” be used.

Distribution. Only known from the Badenian of the Paratethys.

Paratethys —Badenian: Polish–Carpathian Foredeep ( Poland: Korytnica); Vienna Basin ( Austria: Gainfarn, Enzesfeld, Steinebrunn, Bad Vöslau, Baden–Sooss, Baden, Möllersdorf); Eisenstadt–Sopron Basin ( Austria: Forchtenau); Transylvanian Basin ( Romania: Lăpugiu de Sus, CoŞteiu de Sus); Dacian Basin: Bulgaria (Opanec).