Laevicaspia sp.

Fig. 9A-C

Material.

1 specimen (RGM 962609) from sample 2.

Dimensions.

8.21 × 4.10 mm.

Remarks.

The size and shape of the shell and the oblique, large, and slightly thickened aperture leaving a narrow umbilicus are characteristic of the Pontocaspian genus Laevicaspia . The species reminds of the Quaternary-extant species L. lincta (Milaschewitsch, 1908) from the Black Sea. That species is known for its high variability, which has led previous authors to introduce numerous species names (Wesselingh et al. 2019). The Denizli specimens differ from that species by a slightly broader shell with convex, spruce-like whorl profile. Laevicaspia lincta has mostly straight-sided whorls, sometimes convex ones; only some specimens approach this type of morphology [see lectotype illustrated by Kantor and Sysoev (2006: pl. 45, fig. D) as well as the holotype of Pyrgula iljinae Golikov & Starobogatov, 1966, now considered a synonym of L. lincta in Kantor and Sysoev (2006: pl. 49, fig. D)]. Also, the broad shell shape is approached by the holotype of the synonym Pyrgula (Laevicaspia) milachevitchi Golikov & Starobogatov, 1966 depicted in Kantor and Sysoev (2006: pl. 45, fig. C).

Another similar species is Prososthenia sublaevis Oppenheim, 1919, described from “Laodicäa”, an ancient city 6 km north of Denizli. It differs in the flattened whorls and the presence of a weak subsutural band. Prososthenia gregaria (Fuchs, 1877) from the Early Pleistocene of mainland Greece is more slender and has low-convex whorls (see also Esu and Girotti 2020, fig. 9A-F).

Potentially our specimen represents an undescribed species, but given the limited material availability and the high morphological variability of related taxa, we do not introduce a new name.