Graphicomassa Iredale, 1929

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard M., 2021, The Columbellidae (Gastropoda, Buccinoidea) in the Miocene Paratethys Sea — striking diversity of a negelected group, Zootaxa 5025 (1), pp. 1-75 : 9

Genus Graphicomassa Iredale, 1929

Type species. Columbella ligula Duclos, 1840 ; original designation by Iredale (1929: 289). Present-day, Australia.

Discussion. We place Nassa columbelloides polonica Pusch, 1837 and Pyrene korytnicensis Bałuk, 1995 in the Indo- West Pacific genus Graphicomassa , based on their subcylindrical last whorls, presence of a subsutural concavity, giving the adapical portion of the last whorl a slightly pinched aspect, slightly gradate spires and absence of prominent axial sculpture. The absence of an internal row of columellar denticles allows a separation from Columbella . A common feature of both Miocene species is a decollate early spire and the development of a low, spirally formed plug. The loss of the apex is known from several extant Columbellidae , such as Mitrella ocellata ( Gmelin, 1791) and even in some species of the deep water genus Astyris , such as Astyris atacamensis Araya, Catalán & Aliaga, 2016 (pers. com. Marta deMaintenon, 7. 11. 2020). An abraded apex is frequently seen in Graphicomassa ligula (e.g. deMaintenon 2016, figs 1B, 1C, 1E, 1F). The genus was represented in Europe during the early and middle Miocene by several species: Graphicomassa ringens (Sacco, 1890) , G. scalarata (Sacco, 1891) , G. inflata (Sacco, 1890) (Proto-Mediterranean Sea) and G. turonica ( Mayer, 1869) (northeastern Atlantic) (see Sacco 1890b, 1891; Mayer 1869).