Badenian mollusc fauna from Várpalota (Faller street)

Abstract

Faller street) during a construction development in 2005. The cross-stratified, medium-grained sand yielded fossil
molluscs (>200 species) and — absent from the Szabó sandpit — corals, sponges, and vertebrates; the latter include sharkand ray teeth, other fish teeth and otoliths, and a fragment of a rhino tooth. However, this paper only presents details about
the molluscs. Findings relating to the other fossils will be published elsewhere.
More than 10000 mollusc specimens were collected by washing ca. 1 cubic metre of sediment. 166 gastropod and 77
bivalve species were identified. Futhermore, out of these totals 2 gastropod and 12 bivalve species were found for the first
time in the Middle Miocene of Hungary. For the Várpalota basin itself, the following 35 gastropod and 21 bivalve species
were new: Class Gastropoda: Pareuchelus heres(BOETTGER), Pareuchelus excellens(BOETTGER), Nodiscala cf. stricta
DEFRANCE, Lacuna (Pseudocirsope) banatica (BOETTGER), Charonia (Sassia) speciosum (BELLARDI), Nematurella
scholli (SCHLICKUM), Tornus parvillimus (SACCO), Tornus quadrifasciatus (GATELOUP), Theinostoma (Idioraphe)
microdiscus(BOETTGER), Teinostoma degrangei (COSSMANN & PEYROT), Teinostoma nanum (GRATELOUP), Turritella
(Haustator) hoernesi ROLLE, Turritella (Haustator) partschi quadricincta BACH (in SIEBER), Turritella (Archimediella)
erronea subpythagoraicaFRIEDBERG, Peratotoma herminaeBOETTGER, Cerithium (Thericium) obliquistoma (SEGUENZA)
var., Cerithium peyroti DOLLFUSS, Cerithium (Vulgocerithium) vulgatum miocaenicum (VIGNAL), Bittium (Bittium)
benoisti (COSSMANN & PEYROT), Potamides girondicus (MAJER), Odostomia cf. bulimoides SOUVERBIE & MONTROUZIER,
Odostomia cf. tauromiocenica SACCO, Syrnola sallomacensis COSSMANN & PEYROT, Turbonilla (Sulcoturbonilla)
turricula (EICHWALD), Purpura (Tritonalia) erinacea (LINNAEUS), Nassarius edlaueri (BEER-BISTRICKY), Nassarius
neugeboreni(HOERNESR. & AUINGERM.), Terebra (Hastula) striataBASTEROT, Clavatula suturalis rosaliae (HOERNESR.
& AUINGER M.), Clavatula suturalis susannae (HOERNES R. & AUINGER M.), Clavatula lydiae (HOERNES R. & AUINGER
M.), Acteon laevigatus GRATELOUP, Acteon reussi BOETTGER, Acteon tornalitis(LINNAEUS) and Actaeonidea achatina
(BONELLI) var. The investigated material included a new species: Cerithium (Terichium) subpupaeformis n. sp.
Class Bivalvia: Nuculana emarginata undata (DEFRANCE), Nuculana fragilis(CHEMNITZ), Nuculana cf. lecointreae
DOLLFUSS & DAUTZENBERG, Pholas desmoulinsi BENOIST, Striarca cf. papillifera (HÖRNES), Glycymeris (Glycymeris)
deshayesi (MAYER), Chlamys varia (LINNAEUS), Anomia cf. burdigalensis DEFRANCE, Pinna cf. brocchii HÖRNES, Lima
lima dispar (MICHT.), Myrtea spinifera (MONTAGU), Cardiolucina agassizi (MICHELOTTI), Loripes (Microloripes)
dujardini (DESHAYES), Chama (Psilopus) gryphoides austriaca SACCO, Cardiocardita monilifera (DUJARDIN), Glans cf.
subrudista (FRIEDBERG), Glans rudista (LAMARCK), Venus clathrata DUJARDIN, Clausinella basteroti latilamellata
(KAUTSKY), Hatella artica(LINNAEUS) and Saxicava dubiosaHÖRNES.
The upper part of the Lower Badenian (Mb4) is ca. 40 m thick in this part of the basin and has a dip of 8-10° towards the
southeast. Whereas the well-known Szabó sandpit exposes the lowermost quadrate of this sequence, the sample of this
study represents its upper part. The material found correlates with the Upper Lagenid zone of the Paratethys. The mollusc
fauna indicates a normal marine, shallow (sublittoral) depositional environment. Cross-stratification of the coarsegrained sand and scattered occurrences of brackish and terrestrial gastropods indicate the proximity of a shoreline.
Palaeontological descriptions of the new species and subspecies
Due to reasons related to space, the synonym lists do not contain all references; apart from important monographs,
papers which provide pictures of the fossils have preferably been selected.
Abbreviations: M: height; SZ: width; K: number of whorls; LSZ: inventory number of specimens deposited in the
Bakonyi Természettudományi Múzeum, Zirc.
4 KATONA Lajos Tamás et al.: A várpalotai Faller utcai badeni korú üledék molluszka faunája
Family CERITHIIDAE FÉRUSSAC, 1819
Genus Cerithium BRUGUIÉRE, 1789
Cerithium (Terichium) subpupaeformisn. sp.
(Plate I, Fig. 4.)
Author: József KÓKAY
Derivation of name: “slightly pupaeform”.
Type locality and type stratum:Várpalota, Berzsenyi street, Lower Badenian sand.
Shell slightly convex, with ca. 6 whorls (the uppermost ones are worn); whorls moderately shouldered. Whorls
ornamented with 2 rows of slightly pointed knobs (8–9 knobs on the body whorl) ordered above each other in an axial
direction, and with strong spiral grooves. This form is most similar to C. pupaeformis BASTEROT, where the whorls have 3
blunt knobs ordered into vertical rows. Dimensions: M: 15.0 mm; SZ: 7.5 mm; LSZ: 2010.11.141. The aperture of the
holotype is slightly damaged. The other specimen is a paratype.
Order ALLOGASTROPODA HASZPRUNAR, 1985
Family ACTEONIDAE D’ORBIGNY, 1843
Genus Actaeonidea GABB., 1873
Actaeonidea achatina (BONELLI, 1826) var.
1897 Actaeonidea achatina, SACCO F., (vol. 22) p. 36, Plate 3, Figs. 42–46.
Although the Várpalota specimen shows close resemblance to the type of this species described from the Pliocene of
Italy, it has a higher body whorl and shallower spiral grooves. It might be a new subspecies. The specimen is deposited in
the private collection of Tibor BERTA.