Lepidochitona verrucosa, Dell'Angelo & Forli, 1996

Lepidochitona verrucosa View in CoL Dell’Angelo & Forli, 1996

Fig. 107 View FIGURE 107

Lepidochitona verrucosa View in CoL Dell’Angelo & Forli, 1996, p. 42, figs 1–12; Giani 1998, p. 115; Dell’Angelo & Smriglio 1999, p. 137, 151; Dell’Angelo et al. 2001a, p. 148, fig. 16; Chirli 2004, p. 11, pl. 3, figs 12–16; Garilli et al. 2005, p. 138; Schwabe 2004, p. 104; Puchalski et al. 2008 (database: chiton fossil records).

Type material. Holotype: MZB 11653, 1 intermediate valve. Paratypes: MZB 12696–12697 (2 valves, fide Dell’Angelo et al. 2001a); DSTUT B-P.I.06.1 (3 valves); private collections (9 valves): BD F55D/1 (3 valves, 2 from Pietrafitta Melograni and 1 from Pietrafitta “Sbarra”), MF (3 valves), EU (3 valves).

Type locality. Pietrafitta Melograni ( Tuscany, Italy) .

Type stage. Pliocene.

Material examined. Pliocene: Italy: Tuscany: type material, plus Aiano: 1 valve ( BD 920 ), Bibbiano: 4 valves ( BD 921 ), Colle Val d’Elsa : 5 valves ( BD 922 ), Orciano Pisano: 4 valves ( BD 923 ), Pietrafitta: 62 valves ( BD 924 ), Pietrafitta Melograni: 84 valves ( BD 925 , Figs 107B–D View FIGURE 107 ), Poggio alla Fame: 10 valves ( BD 926 , Figs 107A, 107E–H View FIGURE 107 ). Maximum width of the valves: 1.7–2.2– 1.7 mm .

Description. Head valve almost semicircular. Intermediate valves broadly rectangular (W/L = 2.38–2.50), rather depressed (H/W = 0.22–0.36), semicarinate in anterior profile, anterior margin straight, side margins rounded, posterior margin with pronounced apex, lateral areas hardly raised, almost indistinguishable from central area. Tail valve semielliptical, width twice length (W/L = 2.06), anterior margin straight, mucro subcentral, not prominent, antemucronal and postmucronal slopes almost straight.

Tegmentum covered with large, irregular, wart-like scales, obliquely oriented and more or less uniformly distributed across the entire surface of the valves. The lateral areas often exhibit several well-marked growth striae. Articulamentum with apophyses triangular in intermediate valves, trapezoid in tail valve, teeth short, rough and well cut, of irregular width, at times with extra incisions seeming to further split real teeth, but stop half-way their length, slit formula 9–10/1/9–10, slits inequidistant, eaves very porous.

Remarks. The fossil record of Lepidochitona verrucosa Dell’Angelo & Forli, 1996 is limited to a few localities from the Pliocene of Tuscany.

Comparisons. This species is easily recognized for the tegmentum covered with large irregular scales similar to warts.

Distribution. Pliocene: central Mediterranean, Italy: Tuscany: Aiano, Bibbiano, Colle Val d’Elsa, Orciano Pisano, Pietrafitta, Pietrafitta Melograni, Poggio alla Fame ( Dell’Angelo & Forli 1996; Dell’Angelo et al. 2001a; Chirli 2004; this study).