The Miocene Conidae and Conorbidae of the central- and south-eastern European Paratethys Sea are revised. In total, 74 species are described of which 10 are new species and 5 are documented for the first time from Paratethyan localities. Species descriptions and delimitations are partly based on morphometric data. In addition, colour patterns are described for the first time for the majority of species. In respect to the ongoing discussion on the supraspecific treatment of extant Conidae, we strongly focus on generic allocations and provide a key for the genera as understood herein. Biogeographically, the larger part of the assemblage indicates affiliation with modern western African faunas as indicated by the occurrence of genera such as Lautoconus, Kalloconus, Monteiroconus and Pseudonoduloconus. The relationship with Indo-West Pacific faunas is comparatively low. The high alpha-diversities observed for localities in the Pannonian, Transylvanian and Vienna basins, with up to 44 species, is a marker of tropical conditions in the Paratethys Sea during middle Miocene times.        Conasprella minutissima nov. sp., Kalloconus hendricksi nov. sp., Kalloconus letkesensis nov. sp., Kalloconus pseudohungaricus nov. sp., Lautoconus kovacsi nov. sp., Lautoconus pestensis nov. sp., Lautoconus quaggaoides nov. sp., Leporiconus paratethyianus nov. sp., Plagioconus breitenbergeri nov. sp. and Plagioconus bellissimus nov. sp. are described as new species; Conilithes eichwaldi nov. nom. is proposed as new name for Conus exiguus Eichwald, 1830 [non Lamarck, 1810].

The Pleistocene (Eemian) outcrops of Lagoinhas and Prainha, located at Santa Maria Island (Azores), were investigated and their fossil mollusc content reported. These studies revealed that the last glaciation affected two groups of molluscs: the ‘warm‐guest’ gastropods with West African or Caribbean affinities (e.g. Conus spp., Cantharus variegatus, Bulla amygdala, Trachypollia nodulosa) and shallow bivalve species mainly associated with sandy habitats (Ensis minor, Lucinella divaricata, and probably Laevicardium crassum). In this paper we focus on this group of bivalves, which has since locally disappeared from the Azores. We relate the local disappearance of these bivalves in the Azores with the lack of sand in the shelf. The specific characteristics of the Santa Maria shelf combined with the sea‐level drop during the Weichselian prevented deposition of the lowstand deposits and permitted erosion of the previous ones, leaving the shelf without a sediment cover. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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The family Strombidae is one of the twenty-three families and subfamilies of gastropods associated with tropical environmental conditions, and therefore useful as a biogeographical and palaeoclimatic proxy. Today, the strombid genus Persististrombus is represented in the NE Atlantic by a single species restricted to the tropical Mauritanian-Senegalese Province. This work reports the occurrence of Persististrombus coronatus from the lower Pliocene of Santa Maria Island in the Azores Archipelago. Based on this occurrence, and on the Mio-Pliocene fossil record of the NE Atlantic oceanic islands, palaeoclimatological considerations are discussed, which allow, for the first time, to include the Azores and the other Macaronesian islands in a wider context of the NE Atlantic palaeobiogeographical molluscan provinces. Late Miocene to present day molluscan biogeographic units, ranging in latitude from 60°N down to 17°S, are here defined and the boundaries of the proposed climatic zones are outlined. We suggest that during the upper Miocene-lower Pliocene, the palaeoclimate at Santa Maria Island was drastically different from that seen at those latitudes today, with mean annual sea surface temperatures (SST's) about 3.7°C to 6.3°C higher than the present-day 20.6°C, and with mean monthly SST's ranging from 20°C to 28°C, with six months with mean SST's over 24°C, conditions typical of a tropical setting.