Gryphus minor ( Philippi, 1836 )

Dulai, A., 2013, Sporadic Miocene brachiopods in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Leiden, the Netherlands): Records from the Mediterranean, the North Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean, Fragmenta Palaeontologica Hungarica 30, pp. 15-51 : 39-40

Gryphus minor ( Philippi, 1836)

(Figs 62–64)

Material – Melpignano (2 internal moulds); Sampieri (1 juvenile internal mould).

Size (mm) –

Length 9.2 9.9 5.2 Width 7.5 8.2 4.1

Notes – The Melpignano terebratulides contain two internal moulds that belong to Gryphus . It is indicated by the short suberect beak, truncated by small epithyrid foramen, the straight lateral commissures and the rectimarginate anterior commissure.

Gryphus is known from the Eocene (e.g. BITNER et al. 2011); while G. minor is a common species in Italian Neogene assemblages, but occurs mainly in Pliocene and Pleistocene localities ( SACCÀ 1985). Some scarce G. minor records are also known from the Miocene. DAVIDSON (1864) mentioned this species from the Miocene of Malta and SEGUENZA (1865, 1871) from the Messinian of Italy; however, revision of these materials would be necessary. GARCIA RAMOS & PEIRO recently identified a possible new uniplicate subspecies of G. minor from the Late Miocene (Late Tortonian) of Spain (Garcia Ramos, pers. comm.).

Melpignano specimens differ from the Miocene Gryphus rovasendianus ( Seguenza, 1866) and the Pliocene G. sphenoideus (Philippi, 1844) , which have larger size, larger foramen and more elongated outline ( GAETANI & SACCÀ 1983; BERTOLASO et al. 2007 –2009). Their convexity is also different: G. sphenoideus is much more dorsibiconvex ( GAETANI & SACCÀ 1983: Pl. 5: 9d, 10d, 11d, 12d). Another Miocene species, G. miocenicus has more acute beak and flatter valves ( DAVIDSON 1870; BITNER & DULAI 2004). Recent Gryphus vitreus is larger and morphologically more variable. According to TADDEI RUGGIERO & RAIA (2010) G. minor is very common in post-Messinian sediments, while G. vitreus is rare and never found together with G. minor .

This species originally was described as Terebratula (and variety of vitrea ) by PHILIPPI (1836). Later DAVIDSON (1886) assigned it to Liothyris , while MAUGERI PATANÉ (1923) to the subgenus of Liothyrina . COOPER (1983) assigned the species minor to his newly established genus Eurysina , but without detailed justification. In the loop statistics of Eurysina (Table 77, p. 260) E. minor was indicated as a recent specimen from the Adriatic Sea. It probably means that COOPER (1983) has studied a recent Gryphus vitreus from the Mediterranean. Finally GAETANI & SACCÀ (1983) classified the species minor to Gryphus , which is accepted and followed in this paper.