A SECOND CRETACEOUS MURICID FROM THE GULF COASTAL PLAIN CHRISTOPHER L. GARVIE MUNICH, GERMANY* The author (Garvie, 1991) described the Melongenidae: Sargana and Lowenstamia first Cretaceous muricid species Poirieria in Wade (1926), now in the Cancellariidae (?Paziella) cretacea in the New World, and Ficidae respectively; and Triton or from the Kemp Clay (Maastrichtian) of Tritonium (Pictet and Campiche, 1858-60; Texas, so it was with particular satisfaction Binkhorst, 1861; and Zekeli, 1852), now in that a second muricid species was disco­ the Cymatidae. In the earlier Woodbine vered in the Coffee Sand (Campanian) of fauna of Texas (Cenomanian), monog­ Mississippi. The author, his wife, and raphed by Stephenson (1952), Muricidae David T. Dockery of the Mississippi Geo­ are absent and there are only three species logical Survey collected bulk samples from in the related family Fusinidae. the fossiliferous bed "E"'in the Tupelo The writer is indebted to David T. Doc­ Tongue of the Coffee Sand; the specimen kery, III for encouragment to describe this was subsequently discovered after dis­ Cretaceous muricid, particularly as he is in aggregation and screening of the sedi­ the process of monographing the remain­ ment. The reader is referred to Dockery ing Coffee Sand molluscan fauna. Thanks (1990) and Sohl (1964b) for a discussion of also go to John Cooper, Noel Morris and the geology of the Coffee Sand. N anno­ Paul Jeffery at the British Museum · plankton and ammonites indicate the age (Natural History) for access to the collec­ of the fauna to be Early/Middle Campanian tions and the use of microscopes and other in the American sequ ence. To date P. cre­ facilities. Particular thanks go to Emily H . tacea and the renamed species Poirieria Vokes for her invaluable review. (?Paziella) cenomae Garvie, 1991, from Saxony in eastern Germany, were the only Phylum MOLLUSCA definite Cretaceous muricids known. Class GASTROPODA Cuvier, 1797 An examination of the Cretaceous collec­ Subclass PROSOBRANCHIA tions in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) has Milne-Edwards, 1848 revealed one further Cretaceous muricid; Order NEOGASTROPODA Wenz, 1938 this specimen (G 65579) labelled Murex(?) Superfamily MURICACEA Rafinesque, sp. is from the P rovidence Shales (Campa­ 1815 nian) of Jamaica. The specimen, although Family MURICIDAE da Costa, 1776 very poorly preserved, shows four or five Subfamily MURICINAE da Costa, 1776 spines and is quite similar in size and Genus POIRIERIA Jousseaume, 1880 shape to P. cretacea and should probably Poirieria JOUSSEAUME, 1880, Le Naturaliste, be assigned to the same genus s. l. If the Annee 2, no. 42, p. 335. age of the J amaican specimen is indeed Type species: Murex zelandicus Quoy and Campanian, the Poirieria stock is much Gaimard, 1833, by original designation. older than previously believed and shows Subgenus PANAMUREX Woodring, 1959 remarkably little change over time. Several authors have assigned Creta­ Panamurex WOODRING, 1959, U.S. Geol. ceous species to the Muricidae, particular­ Surv., Prof. Paper306-B, p. 217. Type species: Murex gatunensis Brown and ly in the 19th century when the science of Pilsbury, 1913, by original designation. taxonomy was less discerning than it is today. Most fusoid species with spines and POIRIERIA (? PANAMUREX) DUOCLAVUS a denticulate inner surface of the outer lip Garvie, n. sp. were erroneously assigned to either Mu­ Text-figure 1 rex, Triton, or Tritonium. The majority of these would now be placed within the Description: Shell small, broadly fusiform, tip of spire broken, 3 1/2 strongly carinated whorls Cymatidae. Other genera which have been remaining. Earliest whorl with 12 ribs, body placed in the Muricidae include: Pyrifusus whorl with nine, the ribs diminishing in size to­ in Meek (1876), now placed in the wards impressed suture and canal. On the carina ribs developing into low transversely flat­ *Mailing address: Baeckerstrasse 4, 8000 tened nodes, which in two places on the body whorl become foliated spines. Spiral sculpture Munich 60, Germany 187 188 Tulane Studies in Geology and Paleontology Vol. 25 overriding the axial, consisting of four weak In any case none of those species shows cords on the shoulder, one strong one on the any resemblance to P. duoclavus. Triton carina, two similarly strong ones below. Body konincki, from the Maastrichtian at Lim­ whorl with the three original cords on the shoul­ bourg, figured in Binkhorst (1861), is better der, nine stronger cords below, and three addi­ placed in Ranella. tional weaker lines, two of them margining the From the Turonian Cretaceous of carinal cord, one at the start of the canal. Suture impressed, moderately swollen below. Surface Gosau, Zekeli (1852) described Tritonium smooth and polished. Between carinal nodes, gosauicum, a broadly fusoid species with lines of growth abaperturally broadly U-shaped an elongated aperture, labral denticles, a and centered on the carina; on nodes narrowly strong anal notch and a short canal. U-shaped; on larger spine behind the lip and Stoliczka (1867) believed this should be as­ vestigial spine on opposite side of the body signed to Simpulum ( = Monoplex Perry, whorl strongly pulled back into a narrow V. Ap­ 1811) but is near Sassia. A closer species, erture moderately large, anal sulcus broad, and possible muricid, is Tritonium outer lip serrate and open into the final spine. A gravidum Stoliczka, 1867, from the short distance behind the outer lip, the shoulder thickened and varix-like, however not continu­ Arialoor Cretaceous of southern India. ing on below the carina. Labrum with six strong This species, described from imperfect denticles. Labium posteriorly with two lirae and material, has rounded whorls, short one weak denticle; anteriorly with four elon­ spines, varices spaced two-thirds of a gated denticles. Siphonal fasciole strong, canal whorl apart and a sculpture of dense stria­ short, narrow and twisted towards the left. tions between the stronger lines; its exact Dimensions ofholotype: height 49.2 mm, diam­ placement must await a closer examina­ eter (including spines) 30.2 mm. tion. From California, Gabb (1864) de­ Holotype: USNM 465512. scribed four species of Tritonium from the Type locality: Griffin sandpit, bed E, "Friendship Locality," east of Chapelville, Lee Cretaceous, all of which are now known to County, Mississippi (fide Nolf and Dockery, come from the Eocene. Stewart (1926) re­ 1990). vised Gabb's species and reassigned T. Occurrence: Coffee Sand, Cretaceous (Cam- whitneyi to Murex s.l., which Vokes (1971) panian age). · placed questionably in Hexaplex. This spe­ Discussion: The strong spiral sculpture, cies shows greater similarity to P. duoc­ basal denticles on the inner lip and denti­ lavus than the preceeding, although it is cles on the interior of the outer lip are all more elongated and has a prominent dou­ characteristic of Panamurex. Prior to this bly noded periphery. report the oldest known Panamurex was P. Poirieria (?Panamurex) duoclavus does macneili Vokes, 1970, from the Oligocene appear to have a marked similarity to of Mississippi. The lirae on the posterior Tritonium univaricosum Wade, 1926, end of the labium are not seen on any Ter­ known only from the Ripley Formation of tiary species of Muricinae; this feature and Coon Creek, Tennessee. Sohl (1960) fi­ the long time interval between the Campa­ gured a hypotype and placed the species nian and the Oligocene is cause for the doubtfully in Charonia, due partially to a questionable assignment to Panamurex. lack of good material. Sohl had four incom­ Just recently, Vokes (1992) has de­ plete specimens, the largest of which he scribed several species of Panamurex from estimated at 50.0 mm; his figure, as well as the U.S. and Caribbean area of which Poi­ Wade's original figure shows a small spine rieria (Panamurex) gibsonsmithi shows on the apertural carina. The author has a the strongest resemblance to P. duoclavus, specimen that is complete except for a remarkable considering the long time in­ worn protoconch, 87.3 mm in height, terval between the two. where the spine is proportionately more A few Cretaceous species previously as­ developed. Aside from the differing whorl signed to the Muricidae might be consi­ shapes and relative strength of the spiral dered for a comparison with P. duoclavus. sculpture the following can be observed: in Pictet (1854-73) assigned four species to T. univaricosum the shape of the growth Murex and one to Triton. Most of his spe­ lines is essentially the same whether they cies are internal steinkerns and so impossi­ run over the varicose ribs, the spaces be­ ble to assign with any confidence, and tween them or over the single spine. In P. those with remaining external sculpture duoclavus however, the growth lines are would be assigned today to the Cymatidae. abapturally pulled back from the aperture No. 4 Second Gulf Coast Cretaceous Muricid 189 over the two spines and to a lesser extent the Coffee Sand and Ripley Formation are on all the ribs; this allows the animal to suggestive of a common but distant ances­ place the entire aperture very near to the tor. The Coffee Sand species is interesting ground. All species of Muricidae have this in that it suggests that the early develop­ feature to a greater or lesser extent. The ment of the muricid varicial spines first oc­ labral features also differ between the two curred in the adult and only chronologi­ species; T. univaricosum has a strong cally later in the juvenile stage. ridge margining the columella but P. duo­ clavus has a few short denticles, a feature also shown by Hexaplex (H.) texanus LITERATURE CITED Vokes, 1968 and characteristic of Panamu­ BINKHORST, J.T. van B. van den, 1861, rex Woodring, 1959. Were the species Monographie des Gasteropodes et des somewhat shorter and without the spinal Cephalopodes de la Craie Superieure du process, T.