Ledella messanensis Jeffreys 1870

Ledella messanensis (Jeffreys, 1870)

Fig. 2 f–h

Leda acuminata Jeffreys, 1870 (p. 69).

Leda acuminata Jeff. — Seguenza 1877 (p. 1175, pl. 3, fig. 15).

Leda messanensis Seguenza—Jeffreys 1879 (p. 576).

Ledella messanensis (Seguenza) — Verrill & Bush 1898 (p. 856, pl. 81, fig. 9); Di Geronimo & Li Gioi 1980 (pl. 2, figs. 5–6).

Leda messanensis Seguenza m.s.s.— Hidalgo 1917 (p. 375).

Ledella messanensis (Seguenza, 1876) — Nordsieck 1969 (p. 7, pl. 1, fig. 02.00).

Yoldiella acuminata (Jeffreys, 1870) — Warén 1978 (p. 215, figs. 1–2, 10–11).

Yoldiella messanensis (Seguenza M.S., Jeffreys, 1870) — Warén 1978 (p. 218, figs. 20–21).

Nuculana (Ledella) messanensis (Seguenza in Jeffreys, 1870) — Bogi et al. 1982 (p. 10, fig. 1).

Yoldiella messanensis (Jeffreys, 1870) — Poppe & Goto 1993 (p. 40, pl. 2, fig. 7); Salas 1996 (p. 44, figs. 31–33); Beck et al. 2006 (p. 94, top fig.).

Ledella messanensis (Jeffreys) —Di Geronimo et al. 1997 (pl. 2, figs. 7–8); Di Geronimo et al. 2001 (pl. 1, figs. 3–4).

Ledella messanensis (Jeffreys, 1870) —Di Geronimo & La Perna, 1997 (p. 408, pl. 6, figs. 5–6); La Perna 2003 (p. 24, pl. 2, fig. 6); Oliver et al. 2016 (online resource).

Yoldiella messanensis (Jeffreys, 1870 ex Seguenza G. ms.)— Giannuzzi-Savelli et al., 2001 (p. 60, fig. 60); Repetto et al. 2005 (p. 285, top left fig.).

Diagnostic characters. Suboval outline; acutely pointed posterior rostrum; outer surface with growth lines only. Prodissoconch: shell type ST-1A; P-1: length about 150 µm; ellipsoidal outline; convex profile; surface with microscopic granules; transition to the nepioconch weakly marked.

Remarks. The first name, Leda acuminata, was invalidated by Jeffreys (1879, p. 576) himself because it was preoccupied by Nucula acuminata of von Buch in Zieten, 1833. Warén (1978) considered acuminata and messanensis as consecutive species belonging to “ the same evolutionary line ”. At present, however, L. acuminata is regarded as a synonym of L. messanensis (CLEMAM 2016; WoRMS 2016).

Occurrence. Box-corer samples BC67 (1 specimen), BC72 (1); core BC51 (3). Maximum length: 4 mm.

Distribution and habitat. The species is widely distributed in the Mediterranean and on both sides of the Atlantic, from circalittoral depths down to about 4500 m (Poppe & Goto 1993; Pons-Moyà & Pons 1999; La Perna 2003; Oliver et al. 2016). It was regarded as an accompanying taxon in VP (bathyal mud) and CB (deep-sea white corals) biocoenoses (Di Geronimo & Bellagamba 1985). In the Santa Maria di Leuca CWC biotope, it was regarded as abundant in mollusk mud thanatofacies (Rosso et al. 2010).

Fossil record. Pliocene of Italy (Seguenza 1877; Tabanelli 2008); common in bathyal Pleistocene deposits of the Mediterranean (Di Geronimo & Li Gioi 1980; Di Geronimo & Bellagamba 1985, Di Geronimo et al. 1997; Di Geronimo & La Perna 1997; La Perna 2003; Di Geronimo et al. 2005).