The species is found in Miocene marine rocks of Central Europe and was first described in 1901 by Oskar Böttger. There are multiple genera of this fossil mangeliid gastropod in the scientific literature.
Description
The shell of Raphitoma sparsa is very small, with an approximate length of 7 mm. This species was described and classified by paleontologists in several genera, including Mangelia sparsa, Cythara (Mangelia) sparsa, and Bela sparsa. Further researches examined its morphology and compared it with other similar fossil gastropods.
Distribution
Raphitoma sparsa has been found in Miocene marine deposits of Central Europe. This species was initially discovered by Oskar Böttger in 1901 in the Miocene sediments of Kostej in the Krassó-Szörény region of Romania. It has also been discovered from other Miocene sites in various combinations of genera, such as Răchitova of the Hațeg Depression of Romania and the Western Carpathians.
Taxonomic history
This species was first described by Oskar Böttger in 1901 as Rhaphitoma sparsa. It was also included in the genera Cythara and Mangelia; later scientists used Bela sparsa for classification of this species.
12Boettger, Oskar. Zur Kenntnis der Fauna der mittelmiocänen Schichten von Kostej im Krassó-Szörényer Komitat; Verhandlungen und Mitteilungen des siebenbürgischen Vereins für Naturwissenschaften zu Hermannstadt; 51, 1-199; 1901
