Melanella alba (da Costa, 1778)

(Fig. 10F 1-F 3)

Strombiformis albus da Costa, 1778: 116.

Melanella alba – Landau et al. 2018: 313, pl. 143, figs 1-3. — Menkhorst & Wesselingh 2018: 38, fig. 1.

For more, see synonymy list in Landau et al. (2018).

MATERIAL AND DIMENSIONS. — Maximum height 11.7 mm, width 3.7 mm. — RGM.1364919 (112), leg. WG; RGM.1365000 (67), leg. ACJ; RGM.1365103 (c. 50), leg. AWJ; RGM.1365318 (1), leg. AWJ .

SPECIES CHARACTERISATION. — Relatively large, slender, elongate shell, slightly curved with smooth polished surface without magnification, finely reticulated sculpture under magnification. Nine flat teleoconch whorls separated by a shallow suture. Base flat; columellar lip short, thickened, almost straight to inclined; aperture pyriform.

DISTRIBUTION. — Middle Miocene: NSB, Netherlands (Janssen 1984). — Upper Miocene: Atlantic, NW France (Landau et al. 2018). — Lower Pliocene: Atlantic, NW France (Van Dingenen et al. 2016); NSB, Coralline Crag, England (Harmer 1920), Kattendijk Formation, Belgium (Marquet 1998). — Upper Pliocene: NSB, Red Crag, England (Harmer 1920), Atlantic, Portugal (Landau et al. 2006); western Mediterranean, S Spain (Landau et al. 2006). — Pliocene (unspecified): NSB, the Netherlands (Van Regteren Altena et al. 1955; Menkhorst & Wesselingh 2018); Atlantic, St Erth, England (Harmer 1920), Selsoif NW France (this paper). — Holocene: NSB (Strand Petersen 2004). Today this species is present in the Atlantic, from Norway and rare into the Mediterranean (Fretter & Graham 1982).