A review of the family Clenchiellidae (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Truncatelloidea)
Author
Ponder, Winston F.
Author
Fukuda, Hiroshi
Author
Hallan, Anders
text
Zootaxa
2014
3872
2
101
153
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3872.2.1
e9b8d555-d661-4f1a-86e8-f2a0acc38798
1175-5326
253224
F9F81CC8-E033-46B7-B73B-9FB777DF4116
Clenchiella varicosa
n. sp.
Figures 1
,
3
,
4
,
8
,
10
,
14
Clenchiella
sp.;
Tong, 1986
: 443
: 443 (in part?), fig.
2F.
?
Clenchiella
cf.
microscopica
;
Ueng & Wang, 2006
: 31
–36, figs 1–3 [not of Nevill, 1887].
Etymology.
Varicose
: strictly meaning a dilated vein (Latin, but here based on
varix
, a commonly used term for a thickening on the shell, typically behind the aperture).
Types
and
type
locality.
Holotype
: E Mong Tseng Wai,
Hong Kong
, in mud and leaves etc. in mangroves,
22°30’ S
,
114°00’ E
,
16 Apr. 1983
. Coll: W.F. Ponder (AMS C.462960).
Paratypes
: Same data (AMS C.460738, 6 spms).
Material examined.
Type
material.
Specimens from
Taiwan
, Tainan City, Wildlife Reserve, 23° N,
120°06’E
,
1 Oct. 2006
. Coll: Y. Ueng (AMS, C.462993, 6 spms).
Distribution.
Known only from
Hong Kong
and
Taiwan
, but is presumably more widespread in
China
.
FIGURE 10.
Reproductive anatomy of
Clenchiella varicosa
(AMS C.460738).
A,
male head and penis;
B,
penis;
C,
female reproductive system shown from anterior (left) to posterior (right);
D,
female reproductive system shown from posterior (left) to anterior (right). Scale bars: 200 µm. Abbreviations: ag, albumen gland; bc, bursa copulatrix; cb, cut base of penis; cg, capsule gland; co, coiled oviduct; ct, cephalic tentacle; fa, female aperture; pd, penial duct; pl, penial lobe; ppw, position of posterior wall of mantle cavity; sr, seminal receptacle.
Description.
Shell
. Small (up to
2 mm
in maximum diameter;
Table 3
), spire mostly flat with apex slightly raised (
Fig. 1
G–I). Protoconch slightly elevated above spire, damaged in available specimens but protoconch I with 4 widely spaced spiral threads, protoconch II smooth. Teleoconch of about 2 whorls, rounded, moderate to rather weak mid-dorsal spiral cord, causing weak subangulation especially in subadults (in some adults not sufficiently strong to cause angulation), with 2–5 slightly weaker spirals on outer side of main spiral; on inner dorsal part of shell spirals very weak to subobsolete or absent; on outer side of dorsal carina spiral lirae have approximately linear interspaces while on periphery lirae with narrow interspaces. Periphery evenly convex. Outer base with 1–2 mid-ventral spiral cords, not sufficiently strong to cause subangulation; several weaker cords on outer and inner side of mid-ventral spiral(s). Base evenly convex; umbilicus wide (more than half width of base), spiral sculpture subobsolete within inner part of umbilicus. Sutures moderately impressed. Aperture near circular, with simple, slightly thickened peristome, external varix weakly to moderately developed, narrow, slightly behind edge of aperture. Colour yellowish (periostracum), shell white.
Operculum and
radula
.
Not examined.
Ctenidium
.
About 30 filaments.
Gut.
Anterior oesophagus with two weak folds, rectum with two tight loops.
Penis
. Similar to
Cl. bicingulata
, but two lobes on distal portion, one round lobe on right edge, more proximal lobe horizontally elongated; on left edge only one small swelling very close to narrow, pointed tip (
Figs 8
B and 10A, B). Penial duct slightly undulating.
Oviduct
. Albumen gland slightly shorter than capsule gland (
Fig. 10
C, D). Coiled oviduct narrow, with single, very large coil. Seminal receptacles short, dorsal (left) longer than ventral (right). Ventral channel short, narrow, straight. Bursa small, lying on left side of oviduct gland, about 4/5 behind posterior wall of mantle cavity; posterior part wide, narrows anteriorly to nearly straight, short bursal duct on left side of capsule gland. Genital opening simple, on anterior end of bursal duct.
Nervous system
. Pleural-supraoesophageal connective short. Suboesophageal ganglion shorter and narrower than left pleural ganglion.
Remarks.
This species is similar to
Cl
.
bicingulata
but has a smaller shell, weaker dorsal and ventral ridges and a weaker varix (shells of both species can be compared in
Figures 1
and
3
) The penial morphology also differs in the arrangement of the glands (see description above), notably in having only two distinct glandular lobes distally instead of three (
Figure 8
). Unfortunately, the condition of available shell material from
Hong Kong
was rather poor due to corrosion in the preservative, so SEM figures are not provided.
Shells of the species recorded as
Clenchiella
cf.
microscopica
from Shihchu Wildlife Reserve, Tainan City, Southwest
Taiwan
(
Ueng & Wang 2006
) are very similar to this species and we treat them as conspecific. These authors provided photographs of the living animal and SEM figures of the shell and inner side of the operculum. We obtained specimens from the same locality from Dr Y.-T. Ueng, and from our examination of the shells (
Fig. 3
D–F), we regard them as this species pending a more detailed study.