New species and records of Scissurellidae and Anatomidae from the Americas (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda)
Author
Geiger, Daniel L.
Author
Mclean, James H.
text
Zootaxa
2010
2356
1
35
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.275645
c9d212c2-bfed-4043-971c-b80ab6d7ff9c
1175-5326
275645
Sinezona hawaiiensis
n. sp.
Figure 4
Type
material
.
Holotype
(
LACM 2466
), leg.
Twila Bratcher
.
Type locality
.
30 m
,
off Waikiki, Oahu
,
HI
,
USA
,
21.270˚N
,
157.840˚W
.
Etymology
. Named after its provenance from Hawaii,
USA
.
Description
. Shell small (
0.5 mm
), trochiform, globular. Protoconch of 1 whorl, with fine axial cords, no apertural varix. apertural margin prosocline. TI of 1.25 whorls. Shoulder with broad indistinct axial cords, approximately 30 on first whorl, without discernible spiral sculpture. Base with axials becoming more distinct towards umbilicus, approximately 13 low spiral cords between periphery and umbilicus, barely noticeable at periphery, becoming as strong as axials towards umbilicus. TII of 0.125 whorls, same sculpture as on TI. Umbilicus very narrow, bordered by strong cord, walls with distinct growth marks, no funiculus. Selenizone absent, foramen oval, keels low, strong. Aperture rounded, roof overhanging. Animal unknown.
Differential diagnosis
.
Sinezona haliotimorpha
(
Bandel, 1998
)
from the Oligocene of
France
has a protoconch with fewer and stronger axials, and a teleococh with stronger axials and consistently finer spiral threads on the base, as well as a foramen with more elevated keels.
Sinezona brevis
Hedley, 1904
[=
Ariella campbelli
Bandel, 1998
] from
New Zealand
has a protoconch like
S. haliotimorpha
, has a greater expansion rate of the shell giving it a more oval appearance, and when fully grown has a short selenizone.
Distribution
. Known only from
type
locality.
Remarks
. The absence of a selenizone has been taken as genus-level character by
Bandel (1998)
to establish
Ariella
Bandel, 1998
.
Marshall
(2002), however, pointed out that there is significant intraspecific variability in the length of selenizone, with some species [e.g.,
Sinezona brevis
(Hedley, 1904)
] showing a distinct to no selenizone at all. Accordingly, the absence of a selenizone is not considered significant for generic classification. Equally, the presence and absence of a protoconch varix and details of teleoconch ornamentation vary extensively between species in the same genus and is also insignificant for beta taxonomy (
Geiger 2003
).
The shell appears mature due to the descending apertural margin on the last portion of the whorl. The species is known from a single, but well-preserved specimen. The difference in protoconch sculpture, and the absence of any sign of a selenizone despite the sloping aperture indicating maturity, refutes the possibility of a mislocalized specimen from
New Zealand
.