Cancilla Swainson, 1840

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard, 2021, The Mitridae (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda) of the Miocene Paratethys Sea, Zootaxa 4983 (3), pp. 1-72 : 50

Genus Cancilla Swainson, 1840

Type species. Mitra isabella Swainson, 1831 , subsequent designation by Herrmannsen (1846: 166). Present-day, Indo-Pacific.

Diagnosis. “ Shell small to rather large (15–110 mm), fusiform, with high aperture and long, tapering siphonal canal. Protoconch conical, of about three very slightly convex smooth whorls. Spire whorls evenly convex to subcylindrical; suture distinct, impressed. Shell sculptured with spiral cords that are slightly gemmate or with finely dentate margins, very wide and flat, separated by narrow grooves, or with strong, narrow and elevated cords separated by broad depressions bearing regular, very fine riblets. Shell base gradually extended into rather long, tapering siphonal canal. Siphonal fasciole not pronounced, notch deep or shallow. Aperture elongate, narrow; outer aperture lip smooth, gently convex adapically, and flattened in its lower portion. Inner lip with four oblique columellar folds, adapicalmost strongest. Shell pale or cream, typically with multiple darker spiral strokes on crests of spiral cords ” ( Fedosov et al., 2018: 54).

Present-day distribution. Indo-West Pacific ( Fedosov et al. 2018).

See Table 2 for morphometric data of all Paratethyan Cancilla species.

Key to Cancilla species in the Paratethys

1. Cancellate sculpture spire whorls......................................................................... 2 Spiral sculpture only................................................................................... 3

2. Cancellate sculpture weak, restricted to earliest whorl......................................... C. praescrobiculata Cancellate sculpture strong, persisting to penultimate whorl......................................... C. pulcherrima

3. Spiral sculpture of fine spirals........................................................................... 4 Spiral sculpture of flattened cords........................................................................ 5 Strong elevated cords, relatively broad, cancellate interspaces, shell slender fusiform........................ C. exornata

4. Shell broadly fusiform, irregular crowded spirals................................................... C. sismondai Shell narrower fusiform, regular fine spirals............................................... .. C. wagreichi nov. sp.

5. Flattened cords obsolete mid-whorl on last whorl......................................... C. nanostriatula nov. sp. Flattened cords separated by narrow punctate interspaces...................................................... 6

6. Last whorls shouldered....................................................................... C. suballigata Base strongly constricted................................................................. C. cf. capelliniana Profile slender fusiform..................................................................... C. planicostata