Graphis gracilis (Monterosato, 1874)

Fig. 18 d–f

Cioniscus gracilis Monterosato, 1874 (p. 264).

Cioniscus gracilis Jeffreys—Jeffreys 1884 [b] (p. 341, pl. 26, fig. 1).

Aclis (Cioniscus) gracilis, Jeffreys—Kobelt 1905 (p. 63, pl. 64, Figs. 18–19).

Aclis gracilis Jeffreys—Hidalgo 1917 (p. 112).

Graphis gracilis (Monterosato, 1874 ex Jeffreys ms.)— Cossignani et al. 1992 (fig. 118); Cachia et al. 1996 (p. 141, pl. 15, fig. 11); Repetto et al. 2005 (p. 161, mid right fig.).

Graphis gracilis (Monterosato, 1874) — Beck et al. 2006 (p.88, top fig.); Peñas et al. 2006 (p. 130, figs. 305–307).

Diagnostic characters. Slender, turreted shell; spire whorls distinctly convex; periphery at the adapical one third; oval aperture; 12–13 sinuous axial ribs per whorl. Protoconch: stout, broadly conical; slightly more than 2 whorls; diameter about 430 µm; height about 540 µm; distinct submedian spiral keel and some weaker ones abapically and adapically; irregular commarginal wrinkles between the keels; sparse pits throughout; transition to the teleoconch marked by a simple sinuous lip.

Remarks. WoRMS (2016) places the genus Graphis into the family Tofanellidae Bandel, 1995 . Occurrence. Box-corer sample BC72 (1 specimen); core BC04 (1). Maximum height: 2 mm. Distribution and habitat. The species seems to be restricted to the Mediterranean and the nearby Atlantic (Bay of Biscay and Lusitanian seamounts), on circalittoral to bathyal mud (Kobelt 1905; Di Geronimo et al. 2001; Beck et al. 2006; Peñas et al. 2006).

Fossil record. Pliocene of Sicily (Seguenza 1876[b]); Pleistocene of southern Italy (Di Geronimo & La Perna 1997; Di Geronimo et al. 2005).