Mazescala, Iredale, 1936

Harzhauser, Mathias & Landau, Bernard M., 2025, The Epitoniidae (Gastropoda, Epitonioidea) of the Miocene Central Paratethys Sea-an overwhelming diversity, Zootaxa 5630 (1), pp. 1-142 : 94-95

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5630.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:89462472-D932-4255-880F-C6EF15220A31
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D787A4-FFB8-FFBA-FF3F-FF2EFBB694D9
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Mazescala
status

Treatment

Mazescala View in CoL ? sp. 2

Figs 33E View FIGURE 33 , 34D View FIGURE 34

Illustrated material. NHMW 2010/0004/0526b, SL: 4.2 mm, MD: 1.7 mm, Bad Vöslau ( Austria), Figs 33E View FIGURE 33 , 34D View FIGURE 34 .

Description. Shell very small, moderately slender, turreted (apical angle ~23°), faintly coronate. Protoconch and early teleoconch whorls unknown. Teleoconch of at least seven strongly convex whorls, with narrow, weakly concave subsutural ramp and convex periphery placed mid-whorl. Suture deeply impressed. Sculpture of numerous, close-set, thin, moderately raised, nearly orthocline lamellae, not clearly axially aligned (?: 26: 28), with crests only weakly rolled over. Interspaces smooth. Last whorl not preserved.

Discussion. Differs from Mazescala kostejana ( Boettger, 1902) and M. alata sp. nov. in its much greater number of lamellae, weaker angulation and less incised suture.

Paleoenvironment. Occurrences in the Baden Formation of the Vienna Basin suggest middle to outer neritic settings in up to 250 m water depth ( Kranner et al. 2021) .

Distribution in Central Paratethys. Badenian (Middle Miocene): Vienna Basin: Bad Vöslau ( Austria) (hoc opus).

Genus Nitidiscala de Boury, 1909

Type species. Scalaria unifasciata G.B. Sowerby II, 1844 View in CoL ; original designation by de Boury (1909a: 257). Present-day, Caribbean Sea.

Diagnosis. Small, moderately stocky to moderately slender conical, occasionally coronate. Protoconch high conical. Teleoconch whorls convex, occasionally with weak shoulder. Deeply impressed suture. Sculpture of moderately widely spaced, very prominent, robust, slightly flaring lamellae, with crests often becoming successively more rolled over during ontogeny. Often with slightly alate tips at adapical suture. Lamellae often obliquely aligned axially and fused over suture. Shell surface smooth, glossy. Last whorl relatively large with sub-angled, weakly convex base, no peribasal band or basal disc, lamellae very prominent and strongly rolled over on base. Fasciole short, broad, with prominent growth lines. Aperture ovate. Columella weakly concave. Columellar callus forming narrow rim attached to fasciole, parietal callus delicate. Peristome strongly thickened, glossy, duplex with inner layer covering outer layer largely. No umbilicus.

Discussion. We treat Nobiliscala de Boury 1917 [type species Scalaria foliacea G.B. Sowerby I, 1823 ; original diagnosis by de Boury (1917: 60); Pliocene, British Islands] as subjective junior synonym of Nitidiscala de Boury, 1909 because we find no feature to separate both genera. Kilburn (1985) restricted Nitidiscala to species with prominent lamellae, such as Nitidiscala hexagonum ( Sowerby, 1844) and N. unifasciata (G.B. Sowerby II, 1844) (see Weil et al. 1999: figs 41, 477). Strong (1930), DuShane (1974) and Collin (2000) listed several species in Nitidiscala reflecting a rather wide range of morphologies. Molecular data will be needed to better understand this group. Herein, we place Scala (Clathrus) oligocostata Bałuk, 1975 in Nitidiscala due to its resemblance to the eastern Pacific Nitidiscala statuminata (G.B. Sowerby II, 1844) [= Epitonium strongianum Lowe, 1932 ] [see DuShane 1974: figs 76–77; Weil et al. 1999: fig. 493]. In addition, we accommodate a group of Atlanto-Mediterranean and Paratethyan Miocene to Recent species in Nitidiscala : Nitidiscala remota Cossmann & Peyrot, 1922 , from the Burdigalian of the northeastern Atlantic (see Cossmann & Peyrot, 1922: pl. 4, figs 7–8) and N. baluki sp. nov., N. bonfittoi sp. nov., N. browni sp. nov. and N. detracta (de Boury in Cossmann, 1912) from the Middle Miocene of the Central Paratethys Sea; Nitidiscala foliacea (G.B. Sowerby I, 1823) (see Chirli 2009: pl. 11, figs 7–12, Landau et al. 2006: pl. 11, fig. 8), N. pultoastensis ( Sacco, 1891) (see Ferrero Mortara et al. 1984: pl. 5, fig. 9) and N. septemcostata ( Conti, 1871) (see Landau et al. 2006: pl. 11, figs 5–7) from the Pliocene of the Mediterranean Sea and the extant N. jolyi ( Monterosato, 1878) [= N. senegalensis (von Maltzan, 1885) ] from the Mediterranean Sea and west Africa ( Weil et al. 1999: fig. 103) [note that Landau et al. (2006: 35) considered Scalaria jolyi Monterosato, 1878 to be a subjective junior synonym of Scalaria septemcostata Conti, 1871 ].

Nitidiscala might appear already during the Middle Eocene in the Paris Basin with species placed by de Boury (1887a, 1887b) in Gyroscala , such as ‘ Scalaria’ contabulata Deshayes, 1861 ( Deshayes 1861: pl. 11, fig. 11). Several Early Miocene taxa, placed in Gyroscala by Cossmann & Peyrot (1922) are also closer to Nitidiscala but differ in the presence of a peribasal cord (e.g., Gyroscala neovasconiensis Cossmann & Peyrot, 1922 ( Cossmann & Peyrot 1922: pl. 4 fig. 67), Gyroscala despecta Cossmann & Peyrot, 1922 ( Cossmann & Peyrot 1922: pl. 4 figs 77–78), Gyroscala exspectata (de Boury, 1913) . Note that Lozouet et al. (2001) synonymized these species with Scalaria subscalaris d’Orbigny, 1852 and we follow these authors. A revision of the Eocene and Miocene species will be necessary to decide on their generic placement. Similarly, ‘ Gyroscala’ lycocephala ( Kensley & Pether, 1986), from the Quaternary of South Africa is almost certainly misplaced in that genus (see Kensley & Pether 1986: figs 16A–B), documenting the problematic situation of the group.

The above listed species are partly reminiscent of Gyroscala de Boury, 1887a [type species Scalaria commutata Monterosato, 1877 ; present-day, Mediterranean Sea], which has comparable shell shapes and distinctly aligned lamellae and a thin but prominent peribasal cord ( Kilburn 1985: 261). The Paratethyan species lack a peribasal cord and this absence of a peribasal cord reminds also of Connexiscala de Boury, 1909 [type species Scalaria connexa G.B. Sowerby II, 1844 ; present-day, Philippines]. Connexiscala is similar to Gyroscala but differs in its very narrow lamellae which appear fused across the suture (e.g., Connexiscala continens ( Melvill & Standen, 1903) , from the Gulf of Oman, C. cultellicosta (de Boury, 1913) , from Borneo, and C. smriglioi ( Bonfitto, 2010) from the Gulf of Aden). The mode of formation of the comparatively solid lamellae and the general outline with clearly impressed suture of the Paratethyan species is quite different from those of Connexiscala .