Cerithioidea (Caenogastropoda: Cerithiimorpha) of Tethyan coastal swamps and their relations to modern mangal communities

 

Authors: Kowalke T

Published in: Bulletin of Geosciences, volume 76, issue 4; pages: 253 - 271; Received 15 August 2001; Accepted in revised form 16 September 2001;

Keywords: Caenogastropoda, Cerithioidea, Lutetian, brackish-water, protoconch morphology,

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Abstract

Lutetian (Mid-Eocene) brackish-water deposits of Gánt (West Hungary) contained representatives of 8 genera of the families Potamididae H. and A. Adams, 1854, Pachymelaniidae Bandel and Kowalke, 1999, Cerithiidae Fleming, 1822, Pachychilidae Troschel, 1857 and Thiaridae Troschel, 1857 (Caenogastropoda: Cerithiimorpha: Cerithioidea). Fossil species of the mentioned taxa lived sympatric, whereas the areas of distribution of Recent relatives are well separated. Oldest known representatives with preserved protoconchs of the genera Tympanotonos Schumacher, 1817, Terebralia Swainson, 1840, Cerithidea Swainson, 1840, Gantechinobathra gen. n. (Potamididae), Clypeomorus Jousseaume, 1888 (Cerithiidae) and representatives of the genera Gantmelania gen. n. (Pachymelaniidae), Nodifaunus Olsson, 1944 (Pachychilidae) and Bayania Munier-Chalmas, 1885 (Thiaridae) are characterised with regard to their early ontogeny, paleoecology and paleobiogeography, and are compared with their Recent relatives. The taxa Gantechinobathra gen. n., Cerithidea (Harrisianella) status n. (Potamididae), Gantmelania lutetiensisgen. n. sp. n. (Pachymelaniidae), Clypeomorus pratti comb. n. (Cerithiidae) and Nodifaunus (Gantmelanatria) sg. n. (Pachychilidae) are introduced.