Steiningeriella, 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 : 48-49

Genus Steiningeriella nov. gen.

Type species: Cancellaria hebertiana Hörnes, 1856 . Middle Miocene , Austria .

Derivatio nominis: in honor of the Paleontologist Fritz Steininger

Diagnosis. Medium sized, slender shell with allometric growth, expressed by rapidly increasing height of the whorls. Spire whorls are smooth and moderately convex; a weak concavity appears in the adapical third of the last whorl, causing a sigmoidal outline of the outer lip. A deeply canaliculated suture separates the whorls. Aperture elongate with slightly thickened outer lip, bearing lirae, which extend far into the shell. Due to the deep suture and the concave posterior part of the whorl, abapical portion of outer lip flared. The straight columella bears three strong, only slightly oblique columellar folds, of which the middle one is most prominent. A fourth, twisted fold terminates the columella and borders the indistinct siphonal canal. Parietal and columellar calluses well delimited, adherent, columellar callus greatly thickened. The umbilicus is reduced to a narrow fissure covered by the columellar callus. The protoconch is unknown.

Discussion. This genus comprises only the type species so far. This extremely rare species was placed in Nevia Jousseaume, 1887b by Sacco (1894). The type species of Nevia is the Recent Australian Cancellaria spirata Lamarck, 1822 . Garrard (1975) gives a diagnosis of the genus: “Shell medium, solid, ovate, deeply canaliculated, aperture widely oblong, tapering either end; outer-lip acute, lirate internally; columella straight with 3 oblique plaits; axially ribbed in early whorls, ribs tending later to flatten or disappear. Deep canal at top of shoulder is main distinguishing feature.” This illustrates that Cancellaria hebertiana Hörnes, 1856 cannot be placed in Nevia. It differs in the elongate shell, the concave posterior part of the last whorl, the absence of any axial sculpture and the presence of the twisted fourth columellar fold. Only the deep suture appears in both taxa.