Ranina sp.

Palace, Bourbonic Royal, Maio, Nicola, Mancini, Donato, Mezzasalma, Marcello, Odierna, Gaetano, Petraccioli, Agnese, Nugnes, Francesco, Picariello, Orfeo Lucio Antonio & Guarino, Fabio Maria, 2015, Short communications Extinct or not extinct: the case of the Chalcides ocellatus (Squamata: Scincidae) population from the Park of the ex Bourbonic Royal Palace of Portici (Naples, Italy), Natural History Sciences 2 (1), pp. 43-54 : 48-49

Ranina sp.

Fig. 2

Material: One incomplete carapace (MSNM i28045).

Description: Incomplete carapace preserving only part of the anterolateral region. Carapace convex, with isolated spiny tubercles having definite rounded pits at the base and pointed forward, more coarse anteriorly and more broadly spared posteriorly; frontal-most and lateral tubercles pointed, smaller, and shorter, arranged along sinuous, gently convex forwardly smooth, subparallel rims.

Discussion: Even though incomplete the studied specimen shows the diagnostic dorsal ornamentation of the carapace of the fossil and extant representatives of Ranina , having more or less spiny and uniformly arranged spines or tubercles. Based upon these characters the studied specimen is confidently ascribed to Ranina sp. Notably, the dorsal characters of the studied specimen, having isolated spiny tubercles with definite rounded pits at the base ( Fig. 2B ), differs from the ornamentation of all the others Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Indo-Pacific fossil and extant species referred to the genus and reported to date ( Karasawa et al., 2014). Unfortunately, the poor preservation of the specimen, lacking the rostrum and the anterolateral spines, does not allow specific assignment. Regardless, this report is very important because it is the first record of Ranina in the Pliocene, bridging the presumed age gap between the fossil species and the extant and fossil Ranina ranina (Linnaeus, 1758) . Sismonda (1846) described R. palmea from the Miocene of Turin hills (Piedmont), but unfortunately the holotype and additional material are lost ( Baldanza et al., 2014: 276). The studied specimen represents the first record of Ranina from the Pliocene of eastern paleo-Adriatic Gulf, enlarging knowledge of the distributional area and stratigraphic range for the genus.

Figures

Fig. 2 - Study site.