Genus Conilithes Swainson, 1840

TYPE SPECIES (by monotypy). — Conus antidiluvianus Bruguière, 1792 . Early-middle Miocene of Paratethys (seeHarzhauser & Landau 2016 for detailed references), Tortonian of Italy (Sant’Agatha Fossili, Stazzano, Montegibbio [Sacco 1893a]) and Greece (Ierapetra Basin, Crete, this work) to Pliocene of Italy (Hall 1966; Janssen et al. 2014a, b) and other localities in France (Biot), Sicily, Turkey (Hatay Basin), and Syria (Erünal-Erentöz 1958; Janssen et al. 2014a).

DIAGNOSIS. — Biconic shell.Scalariform spire,angular,carinate shoulder, which often bears tubercles, but no spiral sculpture (Tucker &Tenorio 2009). Subsutural flexures deep, strongly curved, moderately asymmetrical (Harzhauser & Landau 2016). Beaded early teleoconch whorls. REMARKS

Based on our material, we show that the subsutural flexures are variable from shallow (e.g., Conilithes brezinae (Hoernes & Auinger, 1879)) to deep (e.g., mean SSFD of Conilithes herodus n. sp.). In addition, early teleoconchs whorls can be devoid of beads (e.g., Conilithes striatulus (Brocchi, 1814)) and rarely species display beads on their last whorls (e.g., Conilithes sp.). The stratigraphical range of the genus is Eocene to Pliocene of Europe (Proto-Mediterranean and Paratethys) and North America (Harzhauser & Landau 2016).