Conus fuscocingulatus Hornes 1851

Conus fuscocingulatus Hörnes, 1851

Figs 39, 40N; Table 17

Conus fusco-cingulatus Hörnes, 1851: 21 (partim), pl. 1 figs 5a–c.

Conus (Chelyconus) fuscocingulatus – Hoernes & Auinger 1879: 47, pl. 1 figs 10–11,?13 (non fig.12=? Conus moravicus Hoernes&Auinger,1879,see Harzhauser&Landau2016). Conus (Dendroconus) ochreocingulata – Sacco 1893a: 12 (unnecessary new name for Conus fuscocingulatus of Hoernes & Auinger 1879: pl. 1 figs 10–11). Conus (Dendroconus) pötzleinsdorfensis – Sacco 1893a: 12 (? unnecessary new name for nov. nom. pro Conus fuscocingulatus in Hoernes & Auinger 1879: pl. 1 fig. 13). Conus basteroti – Caze 2010: 61, fig. 33L (non Conus basteroti Mayer-Eymar, 1891).

Phasmoconus fuscocingulatus – Harzhauser & Landau 2016: 123, 125, figs 12, 17w –x, 29c–f.

Type material

Syntype AUSTRIA – Pötzleinsdorf • NHMW 1846 /0037/0055.

Material examined

GREECE – Crete • 9 specs; 1990; Action spécifique du Muséum project (1989–1990) exped.; MNHN.F.A83082 to MNHN.F.A83090 • 1 spec.; Achladhia; 1964; Nikolaos Symeonidis leg.; AMPG(IV) 3832 • 12 specs; Filippi; 35.035° N, 25.250° E; Efterpi Koskeridou leg.; AMPG (IV) 3833 to AMPG (IV) 3844 • 3 specs; same locality; 2017; Christos Psarras leg.; AMPG (IV) 3845 to AMPG (IV) 3847 • 3 specs; Partira; Efterpi Koskeridou leg.; AMPG(IV) 3848 to AMPG(IV) 3850 • 1 spec.; Tefeli; Efterpi Koskeridou leg.; AMPG(IV) 3851 • 6 specs; same collection data as for preceding; AMPG (IV) 3852 to AMPG (IV) 3857 • 1 spec.; same collection data as for preceding; AMPG (IV) 3858 • 2 specs; same collection data as for preceding; AMPG (IV) 3859 to AMPG (IV) 3860.

Description of colour pattern

The colour pattern on the last whorl consists of evenly spaced spiral rows of continuous lines. Between the spirals, very thin, wavy, mostly discontinuous spiral lines exist. The spiral rows, of continuous lines on spiral grooves, are just above every spiral groove. On the spire whorls, the spiral lines start near the shoulder of the shell, while the spiral line near the suture is partly covered by the growing shell. The lines are not always of the same width and vary from clear lines with specific boundaries to wavy, blurry lines.

Remarks

Harzhauser & Landau (2016) described the morphological variation of Conus fuscocingulatus and briefly characterised its colour patterns. We consider that our material belongs to this species and expand the colour pattern description. Our specimens show a diversity at the angulation (Fig. 39A, E) and width (Fig. 39D, F) of the shoulder, as well as at the height of the spire (Fig. 39B, G) (Table 17). Nevertheless, other characteristics such as the dense spiral cords and grooves on the anterior part of the last whorl, the shallow subsutural flexure (Fig. 40N), and the very clear colour pattern are indicative of the conspecificity of the specimens. Usually, the spire whorls of the specimens are eroded and only few beads and indistinct swellings are visible. From those characteristics, we could place this species in Conus (Stephanoconus) Mörch, 1852, but the colour pattern variation is clearly different from the patterns seen in extant Conus (Stephanoconus). We also disagree with the placement of this species in Conus (Phasmoconus), as this subgenus engulfs many species with radically different morphological and colour pattern variations (e.g., see Monnier et al. 2018). An extant species from Papua-New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, attributed to Conus (Phasmoconus) aff. mucronatus Reeve, 1843 by Monnier et al. (2018) displays a rather similar colour pattern, but differs from Conus fuscocingulatus Hörnes, 1851 by flammulae on its spire whorls, many discontinuous spiral rows and an angulate shoulder.

Stratigraphic range

Langhian of Paratethys (see Harzhauser & Landau 2016 for more details) and Tortonian of Greece (Messara and Sitia Basins) (this work).