Conus (Kalloconus) letkesensis

Psarras, Christos, Koskeridou, Efterpi & Merle, Didier, 2021, Late Miocene Conidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Crete (Greece). Part 1: genera Conilithes Swainson, 1840 and Conus (Kalloconus) da Motta, 1991, Geodiversitas 43 (24), pp. 1309-1339 : 1331-1332

Conus (Kalloconus) letkesensis ( Harzhauser & Landau, 2016)

( Figs 22 , 23 ; Table 10 )

Kalloconus letkesensis Harzhauser & Landau, 2016: 63 , figs 3M, 10E 1 -E 3, 10F 1 -F 4, 10G 1 -G 4, 10H 1 -H 3.

Monteiroconus tietzei – Kovács & Vicián 2013 (partim): 79, figs 92, 94.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype NHMW 2016/0006/0001 . Paratype NHMW 2016/0006/0002 ). TYPE LOCALITY. — Letkés ( Hungary) – Middle Miocene (Langhian) STRATIGRAPHIC RANGE. — Langhian of Paratethys (Pannonian Basin, Letkés, Hungary), Tortonian of Greece (Messara Basin, Crete). MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Greece. Filippi: 1 specimen AMPG(IV) 2682 .

DESCRIPTION OF COLOUR PATTERN

The colour pattern consists of multiple, closely placed spirals of long and short, very thin, fluorescent dashes. Dashes are not of constant length, with some resembling dots, whereas others resemble continuous spiral lines. Short dashes are usually between long dashes, while there are areas of the shell with multiple long dashes, there are areas that do not have any fluorescent colour ( Fig. 23 ). The colour pattern on the

spire whorls is partially destroyed on this specimen, but most likely consists of fluorescent flammulae ( Fig. 22 ).

REMARKS

This species has a low spire and a broad, conical last whorl, with smooth shoulder and a flat-sided last whorl ( Table 10 ). The colour pattern consists of delicate spiral rows of dashes. These characters are typical of Conus (Kalloconus) letkesensis ( Harzhauser & Landau, 2016) and therefore we attribute our specimen to this species. The Greek specimen is larger than the Paratethyan specimens (largest Paratethyan: 40.9 mm, versus Greek specimen: 52.45 mm) and it displays a slightly different subsutural flexure (moderately curved in Harzhauser & Landau 2016). Harzhauser & Landau (2016) described three darker bands on the last whorl of the Paratethyan Conus (Kalloconus) letkesensis ( Harzhauser & Landau 2016: fig. 10F-H). These bands are not visible on the Cretan specimen. The presence of this species in the Tortonian Eastern Protomediterranean, is an addition to the important cohort of taxa common to both the Middle Miocene of the Paratethys and eastern Proto-Mediterranean. The typical Paratethyan Langhian assemblages ( Harzhauser & Landau 2016) were found in the Proto-Mediterranean in the Serravallian of Turkey ( Landau et al. 2013). This species is an example of the persistence of some taxa into the late Miocene of Eastern Proto-Mediterranean.

Figures

FIG. 22. — Conus (Kalloconus) letkesensis (Harzhauser & Landau, 2016) from Filippi, Crete (Greece). Specimen AMPG(IV) 2682 with small dense dashes and irregular flammulae on the spire. Specimen shown under natural light (A1-A2, A4) and UV light. Scale bar: 1 cm.

FIG. 23. — Pattern of the dashes on Conus (Kalloconus) letkesensis (Harzhauser & Landau, 2016). Dashed colour pattern is from AMPG(IV) 2682 (Fig. 22) from Filippi, Crete (Greece). Scale bar: 1 cm.