Domiporta Cernohorsky, 1970

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard, 2021, The Mitridae (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda) of the Miocene Paratethys Sea, Zootaxa 4983 (3), pp. 1-72 : 27

Genus Domiporta Cernohorsky, 1970

Type species. Voluta filaris Linné, 1771 ; original designation by Cernohorsky (1970). Present-day, Indo-West Pacific.

Diagnosis. “ Shell small to medium sized, fusiform to elongate-fusiform, with high spire and rather short aperture. Protoconch pointed, narrowly conical, of 2.5–3.5 smooth, slightly convex whorls to large, cyrtoconoid, of nearly five smooth whorls. Suture distinct, impressed. Teleoconch whorls evenly convex in outline, with dominating spiral sculpture represented by regular, elevated, widely interspaced cords that are fine or (usually) strong, sometimes slightly gemmate. Interspaces between cords further sculptured by fine spiral grooves intersected by axial grooves of equal strength, resulting in fine, cancellated background pattern. Siphonal canal moderately long, tapering or robust, with well-developed fasciole, delimited from shell base by distinct narrow waist, or extended concave stretch of shell base. Aperture rather short, elongate, with distinct siphonal notch. Outer lip gently convex, inner lip with three to four fine columellar folds, subequal or adapical strongest. Shell usually white or light with contrasting spiral cords, either uniformly dark brown or dashed-brown ” ( Fedosov et al., 2018: 40).

Discussion. The placement of the described species herein in Domiporta is tentative. General shell shape, protoconch morphology, cancellate sculpture of early teleoconch whorls, relatively short aperture and deeply incised siphonal notch agree with extant Domiporta species. A difference, however, is the largely reduced axial sculpture of axial riblets in the spiral grooves. Axial riblets occur mainly between the spiral cords on the base and fasciole. A main argument for this placement is the intense spiral colour pattern seen in the Miocene species, which is also typical for Domiporta species [e.g. Domiporta filaris ( Linné, 1771) , Domiporta manoui Huang, 2011 , Domiporta praestantissima ( Röding, 1798) ] but atypical for Cancilla Swainson, 1840 .

Some species are superficially similar to the genus Cancilla Swainson, 1840 , now placed in the Imbricariinae Troschel, 1867 . Nevertheless, species of Domiporta have a higher spire, more convex whorls, and the presence of a concavity that delimits the shell base from the siphonal canal. Some, but not all, of the species in Bellardi’s (1887a: 69) “ 36 a Serie ” probably belong in this genus (i.e. Mitra paucicostata Bellardi, 1887 , M. sororcula Bellardi, 1887 , and M. avula Bellardi, 1887 ).

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

Key to Domiporta species in the Paratethys

1. Two main columellar folds.................................................................. D. turpis nov. sp. Three columellar folds..................................................................................2 Four columellar folds.................................................................... D. pulchra nov. sp.

2. Two broad spiral bands on penultimate whorl................................................... D. austrogallica Four spiral bands on penultimate whorl...................................................... D. amoena nov. sp.