Euspira catena ( da Costa, 1778 )

Bouchard, Blanche, Wesselingh, Frank P., Pouwer, Ronald & Landau, Bernard, 2025, The Gelasian gastropod fauna of Selsoif (Manche, France), Geodiversitas 47 (3), pp. 39-91 : 69

Euspira catena ( da Costa, 1778)

( Fig. 11C 1-C 3 )

Cochlea catena da Costa, 1778: 83.

Natica (Lunatia) catena – Harmer 1921: 681, pl. 54, figs 1-3.

Euspira catena – Marquet 1997: 76, pl. 2, fig. 11. — Pouwer & Rijken 2022: 31, figs 3-4.

For more, see synonymy list in Marquet (1997).

MATERIAL AND DIMENSIONS. — Maximum height 26.2 mm (incomplete), width 28.5 mm. — RGM.1365192 (10), leg. WG ; RGM.1365193 (6), leg. ACJ ; RGM.1365108 (29), leg. AWJ ; RGM.1365219 (1), leg. AWJ ; RGM.1365273 (2), leg. WG ; RGM.1365220 (1), leg. WG ; RGM.1365282 (11), leg. ACJ ; RGM.1365288 (43), leg. AWJ .

SPECIES CHARACTERISATION. — Smooth naticiform shell, with low spire; protoconch consisting of 1.75-2.0 whorls; four convex teleoconch whorls separated by deep suture; last whorl 78% of the total height; aperture large, funicle and inner furrow absent, umbilicus open, with spiral sculpture within.

DISTRIBUTION. — Lower Pliocene: NSB, Belgium ( Marquet 1997; Marquet & Landau 2006). — Upper Pliocene: NSB, Belgium ( Marquet 1997), Red Crag, England ( Harmer 1921). — Lower Pleistocene: Atlantic, England ( Harmer 1921), Sesoif, NW France (this paper). — Upper Pleistocene: NSB, Eemian, Netherlands ( Spaink 1958), Atlantic, England, Scotland, Ireland ( Harmer 1921). — Holocene: Netherlands ( Pouwer & Rijken 2022). Today this species occurs from North Sea ( Pouwer & Rijken 2022) to the Mediterranean Sea ( Fretter & Graham 1981). We cannot confirm Fretter & Graham’s Mediterranean records and note that Pedriali & Robba (2009) did not record it from the Mediterranean Pliocene.

REMARKS

In their excellent review of the Italian Pliocene Poliniceinae, Pedriali & Robba (2009) characterised Euspira catena ( da Costa, 1778) and E. helicina (Brocchi, 1814) , which had often been confused in the past. Euspira helicina has a subobsolete funicle, a moderately deep to deep inner furrow of variable width and no inner spiral sculpture. Euspira catena lacks a funicle and the inner furrow but has spiral sculpture within the umbilicus ( Pedriali & Robba 2009: 383, table 1). They also differ in the size of their protoconchs. Euspira helicina has a protoconch consisting of 2.5-2.75 whorls, whereas E. catena has a smaller protoconch consisting of 1.75-2.0 whorls.

Figures

FIG. 11. — Gastropods from Selsoif. All illustrated specimens are collected from the Sablière du Grand Marais, Selsoif, France and come from the Early Pleistocene Saint-Nicolas de Pierrepont Formation (continuation): A, Erato exmaugeriae Sacco, 1894, RGM.1365287, leg AWJ, H = 2.9 mm; B, Cryptonatica sp., RGM.1365218, leg AWJ, H = 1.37 mm; C, Euspira catena (da Costa, 1778), RGM.1365219, leg AWJ, H = 5.48 mm; D, Buccinum undatum Linnaeus, 1758, RGM.1365187, leg AWJ, H = 12 mm; E, Neptunea inversa Harmer,1918,RGM.1365188, leg ACJ, H = 13.7 mm; F, Tritia incrassata (Strøm, 1768), RGM.1365209, leg WG, H = 6.2 mm. Scale bars: A, 1 mm; B, 500 μm; C, F, 2 mm; D, E, 5 mm.

FIG. 1. — Simplified geological map of the Normandy region (after Dugué et al. 2000 and Pareyn 1987) showing the location of Selsoif:1, Precambrian-Palaeozoic basement; 2, Permo-Mesozoic Paris Basin fill; 3, Neogene-Quaternary subbasins.

FIG. 3. — Simplified biographic map of South-West of Europe (after Landau et al. 2011).