Scissurella nesbittae, new species, from the Gries Ranch Formation, Lewis County Washington State (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda: Scissurellidae)
Author
Geiger, Daniel L.
Author
Goedert, James L.
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-04-06
4759
4
593
596
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4759.4.11
8a5195eb-b912-4e28-afd8-1bd32e7c86a7
1175-5326
3740997
8D3B9B4C-5EA7-4746-9987-CBE75B771D0E
Scissurella nesbittae
n. sp.
(
Fig. 1
)
ZooBank LSID [
According to Richard Pyle of ZooBank, Zootaxa arranges for ZooBank registrations].
Type material.
Holotype
SBMNH 467092
.
Paratypes
SBMNH 637694
(
11 specimens
)
,
UWBM
112001
–
112005
, from type locality. An additional
10 specimens
UWBM
112006
–
112015
.
Type
locality.
LACMIP
locality 41621 (=
UCMP
loc. 3607);
Gries Ranch Formation
, latest
Eocene
or earliest
Oligocene
, 33–34
Ma
(latest Priabonian or earliest Rupelian) (
Prothero & Burns 2001
).
South
bank of
Cowlitz River
at the bend, east half of the SW ¼ of Sec. 24, T.
11 N.
R.
2 W.
, at site of the old
Gries Ranch
,
Lewis County
,
Washington
.
The
scissurellid fossils are from silty sandstone directly below the thick oyster bed in the eastern part of the outcrop. GPS coordinates:
46.4188º N
,
122.8788º W
.
Etymology.
Named for Elizabeth A. Nesbitt for her contributions to stratigraphy and paleontology of the Pacific Northwest.
FIGURE 1
.
Scisurella nesbittae
new species
, from type locality. A. Holotype SBMNH 467092. B–C. Paratypes SBMNH 637694. Scale bars shells = 1 mm. Scale bar protoconchs = 100 µm.
Description.
Shell to at least
1 mm
(based on shell remnants on base of
holotype
), trochiform, suture below periphery of previous whorl. Protoconch of 0.75 whorls, fine axials, apertural varix connected to embryonic cap, apertural margin sinusoid. Teleoconch I of 1.125 whorls, about 22 axial cords, interstices with finest lamellar growth lines; first fine spiral thread after 1–2 axial cords, five at onset of selenizone. Teleoconch II of at least 1.75 whorls (based on shell remnants on base of
holotype
), shoulder with similar sculpture as on teleoconch I, about five spiral lines irregularly spaced between suture and selenizone. Selenizone slightly above periphery; keels of moderate strength, elevation. Base without constriction below selenizone, with axial cords similar to shoulder, spiral lines increasing in strength towards umbilicus, in vicinity of umbilicus forming small nodes at intersection with axial cords. Umbilicus narrow, distinct funiculus.
Comparisons.
Sinezona malloryi
(
Squires & Goedert, 1996
)
from middle early Eocene rocks in Washington has a distinct constriction of the base below the selenizone, and the suture is above the periphery of the previous whorl.
Sinezona cupelliformis
(
Amitrov, 1996
)
from Eocene strata of
Ukraine
has many more axials.
Scissurella aliceae
Schnetler, Lozouet & Pacaud, 2001
, from Paleocene rocks in
Denmark
has a sunken protoconch, a much wider selenizone, and stronger spiral sculpture on the shoulder.
Scissurella bituminata
Beets, 1942
, from Oligocene (or late Miocene, see
Janssen 1999
) deposits in
Indonesia
has a distinct constriction below the selenizone, and more distinct and regular spiral sculpture.
Scissurella depontailleri
Cossmann, 1879
, including its various synonyms (
Geiger 2012
), of Paleocene through Miocene age from Europe has regular spiral sculpture on the base.
Scissurella marchmontensis
Sohl, 1992
, from Late Cretaceous rocks of the Caribbean has a distinct constriction on the base below the selenizone and prosocline axials.
Remarks.
The generic assignment to
Scissurella
is tentative because no complete mature specimens are known. Protoconch sculpture had been considered a means to diagnose scissurellid genera, but it has been shown to be highly variable (
Geiger 2003
,
2012
).