Steiningeriella hebertiana (Hörnes, 1856) 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 : 49

Steiningeriella hebertiana (Hörnes, 1856) nov. comb.

Figs 9I 1–I 3

Cancellaria hebertiana Hörn. —Hörnes 1856: 680, pl. 52, figs 5a–b.

Cancellaria (s. Trigonostoma ) hebertiana M. Hoern. — Hoernes & Auinger 1890: 278.

Cancellaria (Nevia) hebertiana (Hoern.) — Sacco 1894: 18, pl. 1, figs 50a–c.

non Cancellaria hebertiana Hörnes ?— Almera & Bofill 1897: 18.

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

Studied and illustrated material. Figs 9I 1–I 3, illustrated in Hörnes (1856, pl. 52, figs 5a–b), Grund ( Austria), height: 19.9 mm, width: 10 mm, NHMW 1855 /0045/0744, holotype by monotypy .

Discussion. This species is the only representative of the new genus Steiningeriella (see diagnosis of genus for description). It is extremely rare and documented so far only by a single specimen from Grund in Austria and a second specimen from Sciolze in Italy. The Italian specimen, illustrated in Sacco (1894), is nearly indistinguishable from the Austrian shell, suggesting a rather homogenous morphology for this strange species.

A dubious record from the Pliocene of Spain, mentioned with a question mark by Almera & Bofill (1897) without illustration or description, is probably based on a misidentification.

Distribution. Steiningeriella hebertiana is known from the Proto –Mediterranean Sea and the Paratethys. Whilst the deposits of the Grund Formation are of early Badenian (= early Langhian) age ( Harzhauser et al. 2003), the Termô–Fôrà Formation at Sciolze is of late Burdigalian age ( Nolf 2002, Janssen 2005). Thus, this rare species might be restricted to the phase of the Miocene Climate Optimum.

Paratethys —Badenian: North Alpine Foreland Basin ( Austria: Grund). Proto –Mediterranean Sea —Late Burdigalian: Colli Torinesi ( Italy: Sciolze).