Conus davolii Psarras & Merle & Koskeridou 2022, sp. nov.
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 davolii

description: Conus davolii sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: CCB87343-51EE-4FD1-A3C9-9ABF2746B885
Figs 37–38, 40M; Table 16
Conus clavatulus – Davoli 1972: pl. 4 figs 5, 17 (non figs 15–16 = Conus (Lautoconus) sp. 4) (non Conus clavatulus d’Orbigny, 1852).
? Varioconus olivaeformis – Kovács & Balázs 2015: 31–32, figs 69–70 (non Conus (Mioconus) subgen. nov. olivaeformis (Hoernes & Auinger, 1879)).
Diagnosis
A small-sized, torpedo-shaped species with delicate pattern of spiral rows of dots and blotches.
Etymology
A species named after Davoli, who first figured that species.
Material examined
Holotype GREECE – Crete • 1990;Action spécifique du Muséum project (1989–1990) exped.; MNHN.F.A83091.
Paratypes ITALY • 2 specs; Collezione Coppi 382; MOD n.ro di Cat. 5524 [Davoli 1972: pl. 4 figs 5a–b, 17].
Shell description
Shell small (SL max.: 22.1 mm) and elongated. Early spire whorls worn out, straight, conical. Later spire whorls slightly convex, with conical outline. Subsutural flexure moderately deep, weakly curved, moderately asymmetrical (Fig. 40M). Suture slightly incised. Shoulder rounded, with maximum diameter below shoulder. Aperture narrow, straight, with long canal. Siphonal fasciole twisted. No spiral grooves on last whorls.
Description of colour pattern
The pattern consists of small fluorescent blotches, and evenly arranged fading spiral lines bearing dots at almost equal distances from each other (Fig. 38).
Remarks
Conus davolii sp. nov. is a characteristic torpedo-shaped species (Fig. 37), which has a very delicate colour pattern. Its morphology is unique in the Greek collection (Table 16). Two Italian specimens from the Tortonian of Montegibbio have been misidentified as Conus clavatulus d’Orbigny 1852 by Davoli (1972) (see remarks for Conus (Lautoconus) sp. 3). On the other hand, their rare torpedo-shaped morphology is similar to that of the Cretan specimen. Despite the fact that we did not study the patterns of the two specimens, the Italian specimens and the Greek specimen are morphologically conspecific. In view of this deduction and because of lack of more material from the type locality, we designate the two specimens figured by Davoli (1972: pl. 4 figs 5, 17) as the paratypes.
This species could be misinterpreted as a juvenile Conus (Lautoconus) ictini sp. nov. The morphology of this species is different from Conus (Lautoconus) ictini sp. nov., as the spire whorls are not straight, because there are no spiral grooves on the anterior part of the last whorl. The colour pattern is also different from Conus (Lautoconus) ictini sp. nov., as there is no brick-like pattern, but a dotted pattern on the spiral lines. The species could be compared to Conus praelongus Hoernes & Auinger, 1879, but, morphologically, the spire of Conus davolii sp. nov. is not as elevated as in Conus praelongus (see Harzhauser & Landau 2016: fig. 34b–d). The colour pattern is different as well, with Conus praelongus bearing a dashed pattern.
Conus olivaeformis Hoernes & Auinger, 1879 is another species with a similar morphology. It differs in the shallow subsutural flexure, the subangulated shoulder and the inferred (Harzhauser & Landau 2016) colour pattern of densely spaced spiral dashes. The specimen of Kovács & Balázs (2015) is probably Conus olivaeformis, but without UV light results, we cannot be certain. Conus davolii sp. nov. resembles the extant Conus (Hermes) nussatella Linnaeus, 1758, in the torpedoshaped whorl and the colour pattern of spiral rows of continuous dashes and spots on them, with alternating blotches. The ridges on the last whorl are a feature not present on the studied specimen; therefore, we do not assign the studied species to Conus (Hermes) Montfort, 1810 and do not include this species to any subgenus until more material will have been studied.
Stratigraphic range
?Langhian of Hungary (Kovács & Balázs 2015); Tortonian of Greece (Messara Basin, Crete) and Italy (Montegibbio) (Davoli 1972).
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 58-60, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.816.1747, http://zenodo.org/record/6484261