Biodiversity Journal, 2014, 5 (1): 245–268 MONOGRAPH The echinoid genus Amphiope L. Agassiz, 1840 (Echinoidea Astriclypeidae) in the Oligo-Miocene of Sardinia (Italy) Paolo Stara1* & Enrico Borghi2 1Centro Studi di Storia Naturale del Mediterraneo - Museo di Storia Naturale Aquilegia, Via Italia 63, Pirri-Cagliari and Geomuseo Monte Arci, Masullas, Oristano, Sardinia, Italy; e-mail:
[email protected] 2Società Reggiana di Scienze Naturali, Via Tosti 1, 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy; e-mail:
[email protected] *Corresponding author ABSTRACT The records of the genus Amphiope Agassiz, 1840 (Astriclypeidae) from Sardinia are revised on the basis of 110 specimens, collected from 15 localities of Oligo-Miocene age. Since the morphological characters stated in the literature to distinguish the species of Amphiope de- scribed in this region cannot provide a clear separation between them, analyses of the plate patterns and of the internal test structure are introduced as taxonomic tools useful for species-level taxonomy in this genus. Five different species of Amphiope are identified. Three of the six species erected on the basis of fossil material from Sardinia are confirmed as valid: Amphiope lovisatoi Cotteau, 1895, A. montezemoloi Lovisato, 1911 and A. nuragica (Comaschi Caria, 1955). Two additional species are left in open nomenclature. The morpho- logical descriptions and the stratigraphical distributions are updated and improved. KEY WORDS Echinoidea; Amphiope; Oligo-Miocene; Sardinia; Mediterranean. Received 25.06.2013; accepted 30.05.2014; printed 30.06.2014 Paolo Stara (ed.). Studies on some astriclypeids (Echinoidea Clypeasteroida), pp. 225–358 INTRODUCTION subsequently placed into synonymy with A. biocu- lata (des Moulins, 1837), the type-species of the The genus Amphiope L.