Euspira merlei, Harzhauser & Landau & Guzhov, 2025

Euspira merlei nov. sp.

Figs 2K View FIGURE 2 , 38–39 View FIGURE 38 View FIGURE 39

Polinices redemptus ( Michelotti, 1847) View in CoL — Popa et al. 2014: 11, pl. 2, fig. 7 [ non Pseudolinices redemptus ( Michelotti, 1847) ].

Type material. Holotype: NHMW 1890 View Materials /0001/0336a, SL: 30.2 mm, MD: 25.5 mm, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania), Figs 38B View FIGURE 38 1 –B View FIGURE 1 4 View FIGURE 4 . Paratypes: NHMW 1890 View Materials /0001/0336b, SL: 33.3 mm, MD: 29.4 mm, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania), Figs 38A View FIGURE 38 1 –A View FIGURE 1 4 View FIGURE 4 , 39B View FIGURE 39 1 –B View FIGURE 1 3 View FIGURE 3 . NHMW 1890 View Materials /0001/0336c, SL: 22.1 mm, MD: 20.2 mm, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania), Figs 2K View FIGURE 2 , 38C View FIGURE 38 1 –C View FIGURE 1 4 View FIGURE 4 , 39C View FIGURE 39 1 –C View FIGURE 1 3 View FIGURE 3 . NHMW 1873 View Materials /1615/0017a, SL: 25.0 mm, MD: 22.1 mm, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania), Figs 39A View FIGURE 39 1 –A View FIGURE 1 3 View FIGURE 3 . NHMW 1873 View Materials /1615/0017b, SL: 14.9 mm, MD: 14.7 mm, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania), Figs 39D View FIGURE 39 1 –D View FIGURE 1 3 View FIGURE 3 .

Additional material. 7 spec., NHMW 1873 View Materials /1615/0017, Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania) , 14 spec., NHMW A1260 View Materials , Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania) .

Illustrated material. NHMW 2024/0231/0004, SL: 25.8 mm, MD: 25.1 mm, Weitendorf ( Austria), Figs 38D View FIGURE 38 1 – D View FIGURE 1 4 View FIGURE 4 . MD: 29.4 mm, coll.Anton Breitenberger, Weitendorf ( Austria), Figs 39E View FIGURE 39 1 –E View FIGURE 1 2 View FIGURE 2 . SL: 27.6 mm, MD: 25.8 mm, coll. Anton Breitenberger, Weitendorf ( Austria), Figs 39F View FIGURE 39 1 –F View FIGURE 1 2 View FIGURE 2 . SL: 24.3 mm, MD: 24.9 mm, coll. Anton Breitenberger, Weitendorf ( Austria), Figs 39G View FIGURE 39 1 –G View FIGURE 1 2 View FIGURE 2 . MD: 23.4 mm, coll. Anton Breitenberger, Weitendorf ( Austria), Figs 39H View FIGURE 39 1 – H View FIGURE 1 2 View FIGURE 2 .

Type locality. Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania), Făget Basin .

Type stratum. Silt and clay of the Dej Formation.

Age. Middle Miocene, Badenian.

Etymology. In honor of our friend Didier Merle (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris) in recognition of his contributions on fossil Muricidae .

Diagnosis. Medium sized, solid, ovate-naticiform shell with high spire and high last whorl, ovate umbilicus narrowed by trigonal umbilical callus fused with thickened parietal callus, color pattern of close set, moderately large, dark spherical dots on light background.

Description. Medium sized, solid, ovate-naticiform shell of about four teleoconch whorls; distinctly higher than wide (SL/MD = ~1.1–1.2). Protoconch high conical of about two convex whorls. Spire high conical, slightly gradate, with strongly convex whorls; apical angle 100–115°. Suture linear, adpressed. Teleoconch whorls with narrow, moderately convex to faintly concave subsutural ramp; shoulder weak, rounded. Last whorl high, weakly expanding, attaining ~85% of total height; moderately convex below shoulder, regularly convex at periphery and base. Periphery below mid-whorl (~43%). Growth lines delicate and weakly prosocyrt in apical view, prosocline and insignificant at periphery. Aperture relatively narrow, D-shaped, prosocline. Position of adapical tip of aperture moderately low (~75%), slightly above mid-whorl, far below shoulder. Aperture attaining ~65% of total height. Columellar lip slightly reinforced, basal lip slightly thickened, outer lip moderately thin. Columellar angle ~25°. Opercular ridge in outer lip weak. Umbilicus moderately narrow (~13%), deep, ovate to semicircular. Parietal callus long (~57%), strongly thickened, with slightly adapical swelling, not expanding over base, with straight margin. Anterior lobe of parietal callus weak, fused with narrow, trigonal umbilical callus. Basal fasciole solid, broad, rounded, with prominent growth lines. Color pattern of close set, moderately large, uniform, dark spherical dots on light background.

Discussion. This species is characterized by its solid shell, relatively high spire of convex whorls and color pattern of large, close-set dots. The color pattern is intense under UV-light and at the Weitendorf locality in the Styrian Basin, the dots are preserved as black color due to the heating of a basalt-flow, which covered the shells during the time of deposition. Herein, we treat the shells from Weitendorf ( Austria) as conspecific with those from Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania) but note that the Weitendorf specimens are somewhat stockier and the dots are often slightly elongate and not always uniform in size. Note that an opercular ridge can be present in Polinicinae although their operculum is not calcified.

Euspira merlei nov. sp. is highly reminiscent of Euspira vinitor nov. sp. and could be easily confused.Differences are subtle but consistent: E. merlei nov. sp. has a thicker shell and a faint shoulder, its suture is less incised, it has a shorter parietal callus and a wider umbilicus with thicker but smaller umbilical callus. Euspira sirenkoi Pedriali, Sosso & Dell’Angelo, 2019 , from the Badenian of Ukraine, differs in its conical spire with less incised suture and much wider umbilical callus.

Paleoenvironment. Shallow marine, lagoonal environments with sea grass (own data, M.H.).

Distribution in Central Paratethys. Badenian (Middle Miocene): Styrian Basin: Weitendorf ( Austria) ( hoc opus); Făget Basin: Lăpugiu de Sus ( Romania) ( hoc opus).