A new fossil conoidean from the Pliocene of Italy, with comments on the Bela menkhorsti complex (Gastropoda: Conidae)

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PAOLO MARIOTTINI
CARLO SMRIGLIO
ANDREA DI GIULIO
MARCO OLIVERIO
(2009)
Volume
40
Part
1
Page from
5

Based on shell characters, the complex of Mediterranean fossil and extant species related to the Recent taxon Bela menkhorst van Aartsen 1988 is critically analyzed. This species is characterised morphologically with respect to both the close Recent Bela zenetouae (van Aartsen 1988) and the Plio-Pleistocene form, that are regarded as valid and different taxa, only for the different embryonic/larval shell development.

We formally propose to move Fehria zenetouae to the genus Bela Gray 1847 and we describe the fossil form as Bela trinacria Mariottini & Smriglio n. sp.

Keywords
Bela
taxonomy
larval development
Mediterranean Sea
Recent
Pliocene