•> ^^^ (CIO BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY) 19DECi98d PRESENTED Bulletin of the GENERAL LIBRARY British Museum (Natural History) Taxonomy and ecology of Cretaceous Cassiopidae (Mesogastropoda) R. J. Cleevely and N. J. Morris Geology series Vol 44 No 4 15 December 1988 : : 1 The Bulletin ofthe British Museum (Natural History), instituted in 1949, is issued in four scientific series, Botany, Entomology, Geology (incorporating Mineralogy) and Zoology, and an Historical series. Papers in the Bulletin are primarily the results of research carried out on the unique and ever-growing collections of the Museum, both by the scientific staff of the Museum and by specialists from elsewhere who make use of the Museum's resources. Many of the papers are works of reference that will remain indispensable for years to come. Parts are published at irregular intervals as they become ready, each is complete in itself, available separately, and individually priced. Volumes contain about 300 pages and several volumes may appear within a calendar year. Subscriptions may be placed for one or more of the series on either an Annual or Per Volume basis. Prices vary according to the contents of the individual parts. Orders and enquiries should be sent to Publications Sales, British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, England. K. World List abbreviation : Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Geol.) © British Museum (Natural History), 1988 The Geology Series is edited in the Museum's Department of Palaeontology Keeper of Palaeontology: Dr L. R. M. Cocks Editor of the Bulletin Dr M. K. Howarth Assistant Editor: Mr D. L. F. Sealy ISBN 565 07024 X ISSN 0007-1471 Geology series British Museum (Natural History) Vol 44 No 4 pp 233-29 Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD Issued 15 December 1988 BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY) 19DECi988 Taxonomy and ecology of Cretaceous Cassiopiqae presented (Mesogastropoda) GENERAL LIBRARY R. J. Cleevely and N. J. Morris Dept. of Palaeontology, British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD Contents Synopsis 234 Introduction 234 Records in England and earlier work 234 Changes in nomenclature 236 Systematic descriptions. Family Cassiopidae Kollmann 236 Remarks on Nomenclature 237 Characters of the Cassiopidae 237 Problems in Identification of Species 238 Relationship of the Cassiopidae 239 List of Genera 240 Genus Cassiope Coquand 241 Availability of the generic names 242 The type species of Cassiope Coquand 243 Cassiope kefersteinii (Muenster in Goldfuss) 243 Genus Gymnentome Cossmann 248 Gymnentome pizcuetana (Vilanova) 249 Genus Paraglauconia Steinmann '. 253 Paraglauconia carbonaria (Roemer) 254 Paraglauconia tricarinata (J. de C. Sowerby) 259 Paraglauconia shipbornensis (Mennessier) 261 Paraglauconia fittoni (Morter) 262 Paraglauconia lujani (De Verneuil & Collomb) 265 Genus Mesoglauconia Mennessier 268 List of species 270 Mesoglauconia renevieri (Coquand) 270 Mesoglauconia arkelli Mennessier 271 Mesoglauconia frechi (Blanckenhorn) 273 Other material of Mesoglauconia 273 Ecology of the Cassiopidae 274 Occurrences in Austria 276 Occurrences in England 276 Other evidence on the ecology of the Cassiopidae 277 The Mangrove Ecosystem 279 Comparison with Recent Gastropoda 280 Remarks on Palaeogeographical and Stratigraphical distribution 280 Postscript 282 Conclusions 282 Acknowledgements 283 References 284 Index 289 Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Geol.) 44 (4): 233-291 Issued 15 December 1988 233 234 CLEEVELY & MORRIS Synopsis The family Cassiopidae is defined and its characteristics and probable relationships discussed; the nomen- clature of several higher taxa within the family is examined and stabilized. The type species of the genera Cassiope and Paraglauconia are verified and described. Seven species of British Lower Cretaceous Cassiopidae (Mesogastropoda, Cerithiacea?) are redescribed and figured: Gymnentome pizcuetana, Paraglauconia tricarinata, P. lujani, P.fittoni, P. shipbornemis, Meso- glauconia arkelli, M. renevier'. Their generic assignments are examined and the significance of their stratigraphical occurrence established. The geological history of the family is reviewed. By comparison with the ecology of Recent Cerithiacea, the evidence of associated faunas indicates a probable marine estuarine or mangal-like habitat for the Cassiopidae. The European palaeogeographical distribution of the family is briefly considered. Introduction The occurrence of the Cassiopidae is readily accepted as an indicator of a particular ecological environment. They are relatively common in intertidal environments of Pan-Tethyan, or 'non- boreal', Cretaceous deposits. Akopyan (1976: 131) believed that their distribution, although relatively widespread, was facies controlled. As discussed below (p. 274) brackish water affinities have been attributed to them (Casey 1961: 516), but examination of their faunal associations has established that the majority are marine (Simpson 1983; Mennessier 1984 : 102; Cleevely et al. 1984; Kase 1984: 119). According to Morter (1984), the cassiopids form part of one of the typical molluscan associations occurring during the periodic marine incursions of the Weald and Wessex Basins during the Lower Cretaceous. Their frequent association with lignitiferous deposits (see Coquand, 1865; Aguiular et al. 1971) has led Mennessier to argue that such deposits might well indicate the proximity of a mangrove environment. Our interpretation (Cleevely et al. 1984) of the Lower Cretaceous Punfield Marine Band fauna of Dorset (and of a flora that provides no evidence of mangrove species; p. 102) is that it is from an estuarine or in-shore situation. Mennessier also postulated that it was their lower oxygen requirements (i.e. lower than those of other gastropods of a comparable size) that had enabled the cassiopids to exploit such habitats, rather than any difference in their salinity tolerances. The description of these turriculate-conical gastropods, in which ornament is extremely variable, has resulted in considerable taxonomic confusion, largely because of their division into innummerable species which have then frequently been misinterpreted. The work of Akopyan (1976) on the rich, well-preserved late Cretaceous examples of the many genera of Cassiopidae found in Armenia has made a major contribution towards understanding this family. Mennessier (1984), on the other hand, although providing a world-wide compilation of all Cretaceous cassiopids, has produced an essentially phenetic and geographically-based classi- fication. Our disinclination to adopt his latter classification has prompted this account of the cassiopid species found in the British Cretaceous. It was also decided to publish the various translations of descriptions made available to us in an attempt to assist interpretation of significant species and stabilize their nomenclature. Records in England and earlier work This attempt to clarify the occurrences of cassiopids in the British Cretaceous formations has necessarily been restricted to known examples in museum collections. Many of their original localities are no longer accessible. The species that do occur are restricted to the Lower Cretaceous formations of southern England. Mantell (1833) provided the first record of a cassiopid species in Britain when he figured 'several shells ... found in ... the slabs at Pounceford' (1833: 249, fig. 3). However, that figure cannot be recognized as the tricarinata of J. de C. Sowerby subsequently described in Fitton (1836): see p. 259. The specimen was supposedly from the Wealden Shales at Punfield, near Swanage, Dorset, but Arkell (1941: 120) believed it to have come from the Purbeck locality of Pounceford, near Battle, Sussex (originally mentioned by Mantell) following his own compari- sons with other material from there. 1 CASSIOPIDAE 235 Table 1 The stratigraphical occurrence of species of Cassiopidae in Britain. The numbers given in brackets equal number of specimens available (see text for explana- tion and particularly p. 261 for clarification of records of Paraglauconia shipbornensis). APTIAN {Deshayesites forbesi Zone; D. calUdiscus Subzone) Gymneniome pizcuetana [?=Crackers] Atherfield, Isle of Wight ( 5) [=Gymnentome (C.) atherfieldcnsis] [=Gymnenlome (C.) insularis] Punfield Marine Band Punfield, Dorset (10) 'Punfield Beds' Punfield, Dorset ( 2) [=Cymnentome (C.) corfensis] Mesoglauconia renevieri Punfield Marine Band Punfield, Dorset ( 4) Mesoglauconia arkelli 'Punfield Beds' Corfe Castle Goods Yard ( 1) Paraglauconia lujani Punfield Marine Band Punfield, Dorset (16) Worbarrow Bay, Dorset ( 1) Corfe Castle, Dorset ( 1) ? APTIAN (D. filloni Subzone) Paraglauconia filtoni ? = Chale Clay Shottermill, Surrey ( 4) BARREMIAN Top of Weald Clay Haslemere, Surrey (4) Huilands Farm, Surrey ( 5) Topley Bed 1 Earlswood, nr Reigate, Surrey ( 8) Lwr Cyrena Lst. Warnham, Sussex ( 1) Sevenoaks, Kent ( 1) Wealden Shales Atherfield, Isle of Wight ( 2) Corfe, Dorset ( 1) Punfield, Dorset ( 1) ? BARREMIAN, Weald Clay, Large Paludina Lst. (Topley Bed 6) ? HAUTERIVIAN, Weald Clay, Small Paludina Lst. (Topley Bed 3) Paraglauconia shipbornensis Weald Clay Starve Crow, nr Tonbridge, Kent ( 4) Weald Clay Shipbourne, nr Tonbridge, Kent ( 5) below Sdst. Bed No. 3 Clockhouse Pit, Ockley, Surrey ( 9) BERRIASIAN Paraglauconia tricarinata [Purbeck] [= Paraglauconia (P.) purbeckeinis] ( 1) Corbula Bed, incl. highest Lst. band Durlston Bay, Swanage, Dorset ( 3) Durlston Formation, Greys Lsts. Member Pounceford, Sussex (11) Burwash Wheel, nr Hastings, Sussex