The lost Aporrhais species from the Italian Pliocene: A. peralata (Sacco, 1893) (Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda)

Three Early – Middle Italian Pliocene aporrhaid species are redescribed on the basis of material from the Siena and Radicofani basins (central Italy). Two of them, Aporrhais pespelecani (Linnaeus, 1758) and Aporrhais uttingeriana (Risso, 1826), are well known but the third, Aporrhais peralata (Sacco, 1893), has been almost completely overlooked despite its probable widespread distribution in the Italian Pliocene. This species, characterized by peristome with large parietal cal-lus, long adapical digitation, thick laminar abaxial lip with three short digitations and short abapical digitation, is distinct from other Euromediterranean Pliocene to Recent species. However problems remain with specimens of Aporrhais serre-siana (Michaud, 1828) having a wider lip and shorter digitations. The latter were formerly assigned to a different species, Aporrhais macandreae Jeffreys, 1867, but are now considered conspecfic with A. serresiana, though re-analysis of their taxonomic status by modern approaches would be useful. A. peralata is distinct from these specimens by virtue of its more delicate axial sculpture, more obtuse spire and larger abaxial lip with shorter digitations.