Conus (Plagioconus) elatus Michelotti 1847
Creators: name: Psarras, Christos
name: Merle, Didier
name: Koskeridou, Efterpi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Neogastropoda
Conidae
Conus
Conus elatus

description: Conus (Plagioconus) elatus Michelotti, 1847
Figs 29, 36, 40O; Table 13
Conus elatus mihi Michelotti, 1847: 341, pl. 13 fig. 16–16’.
Conus Puschi mihi Michelotti, 1847: 340, pl. 14 fig. 6. Syn. nov.
Conus elongatus nobis – Borson 1820: 198, pl. 1 fig. 4 (non Conus elongatus Holten, 1802). — Hall 1966: 145, pl. 25 figs 6, 10–13. — Davoli 1972: pl. 6 figs 20, 23–24.
Conus Puschi – Hörnes 1851: 35, pl. 4 figs 6–7. — Hall 1966: pl. 27 figs 10, 14, 19.
Conus (Leptoconus) elatus – Sacco 1893a: 35, pl. 4 figs 15, 17, 21, 25.
Conus (Chelyconus) puschi – Symeonidis 1965: pl. 14 figs 1–3 (AMPG(IV) 3862, AMPG(IV) 3864, AMPG(IV) 3880).
? Conus puschi – Davoli 1972: 128, pl. 8 figs 17–20.
Conus (Leptoconus) extensus – Chira & Voia 2001: 156, pl. 2 fig. 1a–b (non Conus (Plagioconus) extensus Hörnes, 1851).
Plagioconus marii – Kovács & Vicián 2013: 81, figs 101–105 (non Conus (Plagioconus) marii (Sacco, 1893)) (non fig. 108 = Conus (Plagioconus) austriaconoe (Sacco, 1893)). — Kovács & Balázs 2015: 26, figs 50–51.
Plagioconus elatus – Tucker & Tenorio 2009: 11, pl. 6 fig. 5. — Harzhauser & Landau 2016: 132–133, figs 30h, 32a–b.
Plagioconus puschi – Kovács & Vicián 2013: 81, figs 106–107. — Landau et al. 2013: 245, pl. 39 fig. 5, pl. 41 fig. 13, pl. 42 fig. 7, pl. 81 fig. 9. — Harzhauser & Landau 2016: 139–141, figs 30j, 33a1–a3, 33b1–b3, 33c1–c3.
Type locality
Tortona, Italy (Tortonian).
Type material
The type specimens are lost (Hall 1966), probably destroyed during WWII (Manni 2005; Hall pers. comm.).
Material examined
GREECE – Crete • 19 specs; Achladhia; 1964; Nikolaos Symeonidis leg.; AMPG (IV) 3862 to AMPG (IV) 3880 • 2 specs; same collection data as for preceding; AMPG (IV) 3885 to AMPG (IV) 3886 • 2 specs; same collection data as for preceding; AMPG (IV) 3888 to AMPG (IV) 3889 • 1 spec.; Psalidha; 35.085° N, 24.962° E; Christos Psarras leg.; 2018; AMPG (IV) 3900 • 1 spec.; 1990; Action spécifique du Muséum project (1989–1990) exped.; MNHN.F.A83093.
Shell description
Medium-large-sized shells (SL max.: 82.8 mm). Spire whorls of medium height, conical to convex in outline in early spire whorls, coeloconoid in late spire whorls. Early spire whorls conical, convex, slightly elevated. Middle spire whorls convex, with straight to convex sutural ramp. Last two to three whorls widened, with straight or inflated, deep suture. Absence of ornamentation along the sutural ramp. Subsutural flexure deep to very deep, rarely moderately deep, usually moderately to rarely strongly curved, strongly asymmetrical (Fig. 40O). Shoulder smooth, with weak angulation near external part of sutural ramp, more angulated on last whorl. Aperture straight, relatively narrow. Fasciole carved by growth lines. Last whorl straight conical.
Description of colour pattern
The colour pattern faintly exists in some shells in the form of axial flammulae in the spire whorls, parallel to the subsutural flexure. On the last whorl, some shells present continuous axially arranged stripes united with the flammulae of the spire whorls. Due to the bad preservation of the specimens, some partially preserve their stripes in the form of axial blotches (Fig. 29H 2).
Remarks
Michelotti (1847) identified two morphotypes of Conus for which he gave two names, elatus and puschi respectively. The two species were differentiated mainly by the presence or absence of a widened last whorl and the angulation at shoulder. This difference was later illustrated in Sacco (1893b) and by Hall (1966). Davoli (1972) figured some extreme morphs of Conus elatus, but he failed to identify Conus puschi, as noted by Harzhauser & Landau (2016). Additionally, morphotypes of the Paratethyan Conus puschi possess shallower subsutural flexures than Conus elatus (Harzhauser & Landau 2016). Taking all this into account, we tried to identify our specimens based on morphology, as the colour patterns are poorly preserved or non-existent. The material mostly comes from one locality (Achladhia) and was previously assigned to Conus puschi (Symeonidis 1965; Symeonidis & Kostantinidis 1968). We identified several large sized specimens with a widened shoulder and angulations at the shoulder (Fig. 29F–G), which can be considered as ‘ elatus ’ morphs. We also found shells with smooth spire whorls and almost no angulation at the shoulder (Fig. 29A), which can be considered as ‘ puschi ’ morphs. Due to the large number of specimens, we were able to see their morphological variability (Table 13). We identified some shells with intermediate morphologies of smooth dome-shaped spire whorls (Fig. 29B–C) and widened shoulder (Fig. 29D) and others with an angulated but normally arranged shoulder (Fig. 29H). Furthermore, the subsutural flexure was variable in individual shells, and some had shallower SSF than others. With this evidence, we consider the two morphs being the extremes of a single species.
The Cretan specimens could be compared to Conus marii Sacco, 1893 but they differ from the figured specimens of Conus marii illustrated by Hall (1966) and Harzhauser & Landau (2016) in the elevated and less inflated spire whorls.
Some of the studied specimens (Fig. 29A–D) are very similar to specimens of Conus extensus Partsch in Hörnes, 1856 illustrated by Chira & Voia (2001: pl. 2 fig. 1) and Plagioconus marii illustrated by Kovács & Vicián (2013: figs 101–105) and Kovács & Balázs (2015: figs 50–51). All of them display conical to slightly convex spires of medium height and are considered as conspecific to Conus (Plagioconus) elatus Michelotti, 1847.
Stratigraphic range
Burdigalian of Italy (Colli Torinesi) (Hall 1966); Langhian of Paratethys (Pannonian Basin (Kovács & Vicián 2013; Kovács & Balázs 2015), Transylvanian Basin (Chira & Voia 2001, see Harzhauser & Landau 2016 for more references); Tortonian of Italy (Sant’Agatha fossili, Stazzano, Montegibbio) (Sacco 1893a) and Greece (Messara an Sitia Basins, Crete) (this work).
description: Published as part of Psarras, Christos, Merle, Didier & Koskeridou, Efterpi, 2022, Late Miocene Conidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Crete (Greece). Part 2, pp. 1-70 in European Journal of Taxonomy 816 on pages 45-48, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.816.1747, http://zenodo.org/record/6484261