New occurrences of Modulidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from European Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene deposits: Data from 19th century collections

Abstract

A re-examination of the historical collections deposited at the Bordeaux Museum of Natural History and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Bordeaux made it possible to identify new taxa of Modulidae in the Oligocene and Miocene of the Aquitaine Basin. These Modulidae belong to the American groups Modulus modulus and Trochomodulus. In addition, three new species are described: Modulus benoisti sp. nov. (Serravallian), Trochomodulus stampinicus sp. nov. (Rupelian), which is close to Trochomodulus sublaevigatus (Orbigny, 1852), a Chattian species, and Incisilabium trochiformis sp. nov. (Priabonian). The latter is the oldest known Modulidae, together with Incisilabium parisiensis (Deshayes, 1832) (Middle Eocene) that was previously classified in the Trochidae. These results show that the paleobiogeography and origin of the family Modulidae need to be reconsidered.