Scalptia michelinii ( Bellardi, 1841 ) 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 : 44-46

Scalptia michelinii ( Bellardi, 1841) nov. comb.

Figs 9E 1–E 3

Cancellaria Michelinii Bellardi, 1841: 37 , pl. 4, figs 5–6.

Cancellaria (Trigonostoma) Michelinii (Bell.) — Sacco 1894: 14, pl. 1, fig. 37.

Cancellaria (Trigonostoma) umbilicaris pluricostata Kautsky 1925 — Steininger 1963: 55, pl. 10, fig. 7 [non Trigonostoma spinifera pluricostata Kautsky, 1925 ].

Cancellaria (Trigonostoma) umbilicaris pluricostata Kautsky, 1925 — Steininger et al. 1971: 404, pl. 11, fig. 5 [non Trigonostoma spinifera pluricostata Kautsky, 1925 ].

Trigonostoma michelini (Bellardi) — Ferrero Mortara et al. 1984: 388, pl. 29, figs 6a–b.

Type material. topotype BS.045.01.036 designated by Ferrero Mortara et al. (1984), Museo Regionale di Scienci Naturali , Torino ( Italy); Colli Torinesi ( Italy), Burdigalian (Early Miocene) .

Studied and illustrated material. Figs 9E 1–E 3: illustrated in Steininger (1963, pl. 10, fig. 7). Fels am Wagram ( Austria), height: 21 mm, width: 18 mm; collection of the Institute of Paleontology (University Vienna), no number, collection Ritter and Gulder.

Description: The single available shell is poorly preserved and lacks parts of the aperture. It has a scalate spire composed of weakly convex and high whorls, passing into a strongly widening and convex last whorl. Early whorls have a cancellate sculpture in which the axial ribs are only slightly more prominent. Later, the axial ribs dominate and the spiral cords are reduced. The blunt axial ribs are wide spaced on the last whorl and cause deep interspaces on the sutural shelf. The umbilicus is deep but only moderately wide. The straight columella bears two folds.

Discussion. The narrow umbilicus and the presence of a parietal denticle (see Ferrero Mortara et al. 1984) suggest a generic assignment within Scalptia rather than within Trigonostoma ( Petit 1980, Beu & Raine 2009, Verhecken 2011). Steininger (1963) identified this shell as Cancellaria (Trigonostoma) umbilicaris pluricostata Kautsky 1925 , which is a boreal Burdigalian subspecies of Scalptia spinosa ( Grateloup, 1827) . This subspecies was established based on its high number of axial ribs. The Austrian shell in contrast has very few and wide spaced ribs and should not be united with the boreal subspecies. A separation from the rather polymorphic S. spinosa is based on the protoconch. Scalptia spinosa has a large bulbous protoconch with a strongly convex last whorl whereas the Austrian shell develops a high protoconch with weakly convex whorls. Moreover, S. spinosa lacks the spoke-wheel-like sculpture of the sutural shelf, has three columellar folds and the axial ribs predominate on early spire whorls.

Distribution. Scalptia michelini is only known from the Early Miocene of the Proto –Mediterranean Sea and the Paratethys.

Paratethys —Eggenburgian: North Alpine Foreland Basin ( Austria: Fels am Wagram). Proto –Mediterranean

Sea —Burdigalian: Colli Torinesi ( Italy: Sciolze, Baldissero).