Gulia westziana ( Grateloup, 1846 )

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard, 2012, A revision of the Neogene Cancellariid Gastropods of the Paratethys Sea 3472, Zootaxa 3472, pp. 1-71 : 27-28

Gulia westziana ( Grateloup, 1846)

Fig. 6F

Cancellaria Westziana Grateloup 1846 : pl. 25, figs 18, 21.

Cancellaria (Trigonostoma) ampullacea ( Brocchi, 1814) — Steininger et al. 1971: 404, pl. 11, fig. 10 [non Voluta ampullacea Brocchi, 1814 ].

? Trigonostoma (T.) ampullaceum (Brocchi) — Hölzl 1973: 194.

Gulia acutangula morphe westziana (Grateloup, 1847) — Cahuzac et al. 2004: 221, Figs. 4Q–T.

Type material. lectotype 65-2-114 designated by Cahuzac et al. (2004), Université de Bordeaux-1 ( France); Saint- Paul-lès-Dax ( France), Burdigalian (Early Miocene) .

Studied and illustrated material: Fig. 6F: silicone mould, Obermarkersdorf ( Austria), height: 38.6 mm, width: 24.8 mm, NHMW.

Discussion. The Early Miocene specimens from the Paratethys are characterised by a very high and narrow spire and an abruptly widening, angulated last whorl with moderately convex flanks. The axial ribs are sharp and have a trigonal cross-section, forming short spines on the shoulder, overrun by prominent spiral cords. The umbilicus is a quickly narrowing chink and the columellar callus is thickened abapically.

Cahuzac et al. (2004) considered Gulia westziana to be a mere morphotype of Gulia acutangula ( Faujas, 1817) . The rather high spire and narrow umbilicus of the Paratethyan shells is closer to the type of Gulia westziana and lacks the wide and deep umbilicus of Gulia acutangula as illustrated by Cahuzac et al. (2004, fig. 4A–C). Nevertheless, the occurrence of Gulia acutangula ( Faujas, 1817) in the Paratethys might be indicated by poorly preserved Early Miocene shells from Bavaria and Slovakia described by Hölzl (1958, p. 254, pl. 21, fig. 8) and Steininger et al. (1971).

Distribution. This species is known from the Burdigalian of the Aquitaine Basin ( Cahuzac et al. 2004) and from the Eggenburgian of the Paratethys ( Steininger et al., 1971).

North East Atlantic —Early Miocene: Aquitaine Basin ( France: Aquitaine Basin). Paratethys —Eggenburgian (=early Burdigalian): southern margin of the Bohemian Massif ( Austria: Obermarkersdorf); South Slovakian– North Hungarian Basin ( Slovakia: Lipovany).