Monteiroconus antiquus Lamarck 1810
Creators: name: Harzhauser, Mathias
name: Landau, Bernard
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Neogastropoda
Conidae
Monteiroconus
Monteiroconus antiquus

description: Monteiroconus antiquus (Lamarck, 1810)
Figs 17 N, 24A1–A3, 24B1–B3, 24C1–C3
Conus antiquus Lamarck 1810: 439.
Conus Acuminatus nobis—Borson 1820: 194, pl. 1, fig. 2 [non Conus acuminatus Bruguière, 1792].
Conus tarbellianus Grat. —Hörnes 1851: 33, pl. 4, figs 1a–b, 2 [non fig. 3?].
Conus subacuminatus d’Orb. —d’Orbigny 1852: 5 [nom. nov. pro C. acuminatus Borson, 1820, non Bruguière, 1792].
Conus (Leptoconus) Tarbellianus Grat. var. Sharpeanus da Costa—Hoernes & Auinger 1879: 32, pl. 4, fig. 1. [Conus virginalis Brocc.] var. epellus De Greg. — De Gregorio 1885: 364.
Conus (Lithoconus) subacuminatus (d’Orbigny) — Csepreghy-Meznerics 1956: 420, pl. 11, figs 5–6.
Conus (Lithoconus) subacuminatus d’Orbigny, 1852 — Strausz 1966: 454, pl. 67, fig. 13.
? Conus (Lithoconus) subacuminatus d’Orbigny—Bohn-Havas 1973: 1069, pl. 7, fig. 10.
? Conus antiqus [sic] Lamarck– Chira & Voia 2001: 156, pl. 1, figs 3a–b.
Monteiroconus antiquus (Lamarck, 1810) — Landau et al. 2013: 241, pl. 38, figs 5–6, pl. 41, fig. 10, pl. 42, fig. 4, pl. 81, figs 4– 5 [cum syn.].
non Conus (Lithoconus) antiquus concavespira (Sacco, 1893) — Atanacković 1985: 180, pl. 40, figs 7–10. non Lithoconus antiquus (Lamarck, 1810) — Kovács & Vicián 2013: 74, figs 74–76.
Type material. Lectotype catalogue number MNHN B35774, stored in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris; no detailed locality given; Piedmont Italy, probably Burdigalian (early Miocene). This specimen was found again in the Paris collection in the 1980s (Ferrero-Mortara et al. 1984). Therefore, Hall (1966) considered the type specimen as lost and designated a neotype based on a Burdigalian specimen from the Turin Hills in the Saccocollection of the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino (BS.038.02.021).
Studied material. 1 spec. NHMW 1853/0003/0007, 1 spec. NHMW 1846/0037/0035, 2 spec. NHMW 1855/ 0014/0364, 3 spec. NHMW 1856/0001/0364, 2 spec. NHMW 1856/0004/0034, 1 spec. NHMW 1856/0050/0112, 1 spec. NHMW 1863/0015/1283, 2 spec. NHMW 1997z0178/1480, 1 spec. NHMW 1970/1396/1486, 9 spec. NHMW 2013/0479/2041, 2 spec. NHMW 2013 /0479/1623, GBA 1856/004/0003, illustrated in Hörnes (1851, pl. 4, fig. 1), all Gainfarn (Austria); 4 spec. NHMW 1858 /0015/0067, Steinebrunn (Austria); 2 spec. NHMW 1860/ 0001/0063, 1 spec. NHMW 1851 /0010/0007, illustrated in Hörnes (1851, pl. 4, fig. 2), 1 spec. NHMW 1850 /0001/ 0 0 54, illustrated in Hoernes & Auinger (1879, pl. 4, fig. 1), all Mikulov-Kienberk (Czech Republic).
Illustrated material. Figs 24A 1 –A3: SL: 137.3 mm, MD: 68.7 mm, NHMW 2016 /0048/0001; all Gainfarn (Austria); Figs 24 B1–B3, 17N: SL: 109.8 mm, MD: 49.1 mm, NHMW 1970/1396/1486; Figs 24 C1–C3: SL: 128.4 mm, MD: 59.9 mm, NHMW 1856/0050/0112.
Description: Large shells with low, coeloconoid spire. Early spire whorls angulated, later distinctly concave with spiral striae, which are most prominent on the adapical half of the whorls. Subsutural flexure moderately deep, moderately curved, strongly asymmetrical. Last whorl elongate, straight-sided; position of maximum diameter close below shoulder; weakly constricted at base. Weak spiral grooves on abapical third of last whorl are usually developed and become stronger and more closely spaced abapically. Aperture narrow, straight, slightly narrowed in middle part. Siphonal canal long, weakly recurved posteriorly with broad, rounded fasciole. Colour pattern under UV light consisting of numerous, thin, continuous and regular brown spiral lines covering the entire last whorl.
Shell measurements and ratios. n = 10 adult and subadult specimens: largest specimen: SL: 128.4 mm, MD: 59.9 mm, mean SL: 107.9 mm (σ = 14.2), mean MD: 51.12 mm (σ = 6.5), spire angle: µ = 107.9° (σ = 8.8°), last whorl angle: µ = 26° (σ = 1.9°), LW: µ = 2.1 (σ = 0.1), RD: µ = 0.56 (σ = 0.03), PMD: µ = 0.94 (σ = 0.03), RSH: µ = 0.16 (σ = 0.03).
Discussion. This species is an outlier within Monteiroconus concerning the strongly elongate last whorl. Nevertheless, we follow Tucker & Tenorio (2009) and place it in Monteiroconus based on its genus-typical spire and sculpture. The colour pattern of Serravallian specimens of M. antiquus from the Karaman Basin in Turkey consists of narrow, axially arranged flammules (Landau et al. 2013), thus differing from the Paratethyan shell with densely spaced, continuous spirals. Comparable patterns, however, are also documented from Tortonian shells from Montegibbio (Italy) (see Davoli 1972). This is among the largest cone shells in the Paratethys and is recognized easily by its slender shell with short coeloconoid spire and concave spire whorls. Hoernes & Auinger (1879) illustrated a rather bulky subadult shell, which they identified with the smaller and shorter Conus sharpeanus Pereira da Costa, 1866. De Gregorio (1885) introduced epellus as new name for the specimens illustrated in Hörnes (1851, pl. 4, figs 1–3), which is considered herein to be a subjective junior synonym of Conus antiquus Lamarck, 1810. The juvenile specimen illustrated by Hörnes (1851, pl. 4, fig 3.) was excluded by Hall (1966) from C. antiquus and placed it in Plagioconus elatus (Michelotti, 1847). Unfortunately, this specimen is lost and its status remains unclear.
Paleoenvironment. Monteiroconus antiquus occurs only in shallow sublittoral settings. At localities, such as Gainfarn and Mikulov it was inhabiting sea grass meadows (Zuschin et al. 2007).
Distribution in Paratethys. Badenian (middle Miocene): Vienna Basin: Gainfarn, Steinebrunn, Pötzleinsdorf (Austria) (Hoernes & Auinger 1879; Sieber 1958b), Mikulov-Kienberk (Czech Republic) (Hoernes & Auinger 1879); Pannonian Basin: Pécsszabolcs, Szob (Hungary) (Strausz 1966); Transylvanian Basin: Lăpugiu de Sus (Romania) (Chira & Voia 2001).
Proto-Mediterranean Sea and northeastern Atlantic. Widespread during the early Miocene to late Miocene in the northeastern Atlantic and the Proto-Mediterranean Sea; the species persists into the Pliocene in the Mediterranean Sea (see Landau et al. 2013 for detailed references).
description: Published as part of Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard, 2016, A revision of the Neogene Conidae and Conorbidae (Gastropoda) of the Paratethys Sea, pp. 1-178 in Zootaxa 4210 (1) on pages 102-104, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4210.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/252966