Euspira catena (da Costa, 1778)

(Fig. 11C 1-C 3)

Cochlea catena da Costa, 1778: 83.

Natica (Lunatia) catena – Harmer 1921: 681, pl. 54, figs 1-3.

Euspira catena – Marquet 1997: 76, pl. 2, fig. 11. — Pouwer & Rijken 2022: 31, figs 3-4.

For more, see synonymy list in Marquet (1997).

MATERIAL AND DIMENSIONS. — Maximum height 26.2 mm (incomplete), width 28.5 mm. — RGM.1365192 (10), leg. WG; RGM.1365193 (6), leg. ACJ; RGM.1365108 (29), leg. AWJ; RGM.1365219 (1), leg. AWJ; RGM.1365273 (2), leg. WG; RGM.1365220 (1), leg. WG; RGM.1365282 (11), leg. ACJ; RGM.1365288 (43), leg. AWJ .

SPECIES CHARACTERISATION. — Smooth naticiform shell, with low spire; protoconch consisting of 1.75-2.0 whorls; four convex teleoconch whorls separated by deep suture; last whorl 78% of the total height; aperture large, funicle and inner furrow absent, umbilicus open, with spiral sculpture within.

DISTRIBUTION. — Lower Pliocene: NSB, Belgium (Marquet 1997; Marquet & Landau 2006). — Upper Pliocene: NSB, Belgium (Marquet 1997), Red Crag, England (Harmer 1921). — Lower Pleistocene: Atlantic, England (Harmer 1921), Sesoif, NW France (this paper). — Upper Pleistocene: NSB, Eemian, Netherlands (Spaink 1958), Atlantic, England, Scotland, Ireland (Harmer 1921). — Holocene: Netherlands (Pouwer & Rijken 2022). Today this species occurs from North Sea (Pouwer & Rijken 2022) to the Mediterranean Sea (Fretter & Graham 1981). We cannot confirm Fretter & Graham’s Mediterranean records and note that Pedriali & Robba (2009) did not record it from the Mediterranean Pliocene.

REMARKS

In their excellent review of the Italian Pliocene Poliniceinae, Pedriali & Robba (2009) characterised Euspira catena (da Costa, 1778) and E. helicina (Brocchi, 1814), which had often been confused in the past. Euspira helicina has a subobsolete funicle, a moderately deep to deep inner furrow of variable width and no inner spiral sculpture. Euspira catena lacks a funicle and the inner furrow but has spiral sculpture within the umbilicus (Pedriali & Robba 2009: 383, table 1). They also differ in the size of their protoconchs. Euspira helicina has a protoconch consisting of 2.5-2.75 whorls, whereas E. catena has a smaller protoconch consisting of 1.75-2.0 whorls.