| Measurements | D mm | H/D | T/D | O/D | H/T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CP-707 figured | 76.8 | 0.48 | 0.48 | 0.24 | 1.00 |
| RJ-565 figured | 91.1 | 0.45 | 0.49 | 0.25 | 0.92 |
| CP-257 | 139.5 | 0.45 | 0.44 | 0.28 | 1.02 |
| Age | Origin |
|---|---|
|
H. dentatus zone Middle Albian |
Horton Clay Pit, Small Dole Sussex, England |
| Var. | dentatus | spathi | paronai |
|---|---|---|---|
| H/T | 1.21-1.27 | 0.92-1.02 | 0.67-0.83 |
| T/D | 0.37-0.40 | 0.49 | 0.52-0.70 |
Description. First, read the entry for Hoplites (Hoplites) dentatus. Internal mold in gray limestone with clayey parts and a preserved shell on the exposed flank, with the beginning of the body chamber on the last quarter of whorl. The whorls, with a trapezoidal section as tall as wide, overlap by 60%. The 60° umbilical wall is flat and joins the flank via a rounded edge. Fifteen slightly proverse primary ribs originate on the umbilical wall and rise to form pinched, projminent tubercles just beyond the umbilical edge. They then divide into two secondary ribs curved forward. Their raised ends reach a 70° angle to the siphonal line and alternate on either side of it. They define a groove in the form of a straight, smooth band 4 mm wide. Including a few intercalary ribs, there are 35 ribs at the top of the flanks. The whorls overlap just above the highest point of the umbilical tubercles, which are clearly visible in the inner whorls.
Remarks. This large specimen comes from an old quarry between Small Dole and Upper Beeding (Sussex), described by Milbourne (1961) and Owen (1971). The latter provides a detailed cross-section (pp. 36–37), the thickest in the English Lower Gault (48 m high). Amédro (1992) and Amédro et al. (2014) consider H. (H.) spathi to be the medium-thickness variant of Hoplites (Hoplites) dentatus, see the last table. It is the predominant variant at Courcelles, in the Aube department. The paronai variant, the thickest, is uncommon, especially large specimens. As with the variants of H. (H.) benettianus, the increase in thickness of successive variants causes the tubercles to move higher on the flanks, which shortens the secondary ribs, and the ornamentation becomes stronger, with fewer ribs.