Seguenziidae (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda) from SE Brazil collected by the Marion Dufresne (MD 55) expedition
Author
Salvador, Rodrigo B.
Author
Cavallari, Daniel C.
Author
Simone, Luiz R. L.
text
Zootaxa
2014
3878
6
536
550
journal article
42302
10.11646/zootaxa.3878.6.2
653889f8-e35b-4f36-8742-6034d62a0be0
1175-5326
226061
9B8C3DEB-DBE1-44EB-BDE2-8171C9408460
Halystina umberlee
sp. nov.
(
Figs. 13–18
)
Type
material:
Holotype
:
MNHN
IM-
2000-27537.
Paratypes
:
MNHN
IM-
2000-27539, 1 shell, from
type
locality.
MNHN
IM-
2000-27538, 23 shells,
MZSP
116292, 12 shells, from:
Brazil
: Espírito Santo:
off São Mateus, continental slope of Abrolhos,
18°59’S
37°47’W
,
1540–1550 m
depth (MD55, sta. DC70,
26/v/1987
).
Type
locality:
Brazil
: Espírito Santo:
off São Mateus, continental slope of Abrolhos,
19°00’S
37°48’08’’W
,
950–1050 m
depth (MD55, sta. DC72,
27/v/1987
).
Distribution:
Off southeastern
Brazil
, from Espírito Santo to Rio de Janeiro, at
950–1550 m
depths.
Etymology:
The specific epithet is in apposition named after
Umberlee
, a fictional goddess of the deep sea from the Faerûnian pantheon of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Diagnosis:
Overall shell profile markedly rounded, roughly as wide as tall; spire slightly step-like, region below suture markedly concave. Body whorl broad. Teleoconch sculpture delicate and narrowly spaced. Spiral cords faint, giving whorls a more convex profile.
Description:
Shell small (height
2mm
), rounded, conical to turbinate (roughly as wide as tall), relatively thickwalled; spire short, height 1/2 of shell height, spire angle 80°; color nacreous glossy white. Protoconch (~1 whorl,
0.28 mm
) bulbous, with pitted, irregular surface, not too prominent; transition visible as thin orthocline line. Teleoconch of circa 4 whorls, with well-marked, but not particularly deep suture. Outline concave between cords, but with an overall convex profile; region slightly below suture markedly concave; sculpture consisting of delicate but well-marked spiral cordlets crossed by axial threads, forming a delicate reticulate pattern; disposition of axial threads alternating between prosocline, orthocline and opisthocline between cords along the shell’s longitudinal axis, constituting an overall continuous sigmoid pattern; spiral sculpture becoming gradually weaker toward basal region of last whorl. Body whorl base sculptured by 10–12 spiral cords, with axial threads also present between cords. Umbilical region smooth, edge rounded but thick and well-marked. Aperture quadrangular, height 1/2 shell height, with three labral sinuses: a deep, large (1/5 of whorl height) subsutural sinus; a small (1/6 of aperture height), very shallow sinus in medial region of outer lip; and a relatively large (nearly same size as subsutural) sinus on basal region of aperture, congruent with umbilical carina. Umbilicus narrow (diameter 1/7 of shell diameter), deep.
Measurements (in mm):
Holotype
:
4½ whorls, H = 1.78; D = 1.75; h = 0.71; d = 0.64.
Paratypes
:
MZUSP 116292 (n = 12), 4½–5 whorls, H = 1.96 ± 0.1, D = 1.88 ± 0.05, h = 0.71 ± 0.2, d = 0.65 ± 0.18; MNHN IM-2000- 27538 (n = 21), 4½–5¼ whorls, H = 1.95 ± 0.17, D = 1.86 ± 0.1, h = 1.04 ± 0.08, d = 0.82 ± 0.07; MNHN IM-2000- 27539, 4½ whorls, H = 1.64, D = 1.66, h = 0.93, d = 0.69.
FIGURES 13–18.
Halystina umberlee
sp. nov.
;
13–15.
Holotype MNHN IM-2000-27537 (H = 1.78 mm, D = 1.75 mm);
13.
Apertural view;
14.
Apical view;
15.
Umbilical view;
16–18.
Paratype MNHN IM-2000-27538, under SEM (H = 2.2 mm, D = 1.8 mm), specimen shows natural shell repair after breakage;
16.
Lateral view;
17.
Apertural view;
18.
Protoconch detail (scale bar = 0.1 mm).
Material examined:
Types
.
Discussion:
The present specimens fit well in the genus
Halystina
, described by
Marshall
(1991)
and corresponding to the
Seguenzia
Group III
sensu
Quinn (1983b)
. The genus is known almost exclusively from the South Pacific, with a single species,
H. simplex
(
Barnard, 1963
)
, occurring off Cape Point,
South Africa
(
Marshall
1991
;
Poppe
et al
. 2006
). The genus is diagnosed by its small size, overall rounded shell profile, with flat-sided whorls and finely granulate protoconch (
Marshall
1991
) and is probably related to the very similar genus
Halystes
Marshall
, which differs almost exclusively by its much larger size (
Marshall
1988
).
The present specimens are reminiscent of most of its congeners, but can be diagnosed by its more rounded overall profile, with a broader body whorl and a more step-like spire, a distinct concave region below the suture, fainter spiral cords (which gives the whorls a more convex profile) and its more delicate and narrowly spaced teleoconch sculpture. The present record greatly expands the distribution of the genus
Halystina
to western South Atlantic waters.
Halystina umberlee
is most similar to
H. vaubani
Marshall
, 1991
, but can be distinguished by its broader body whorl, more delicate teleoconch sculpture and fainter spiral cords.
Halystina umberlee
can be distinguished from
H. siberutensis
(
Thiele, 1925
)
,
H. caledonica
Marshall
, 1991
and
H. globulus
Poppe, Tagaro & Dekker, 2006
by its more rounded profile, more convex whorls and more step-like spire. Finally, it can be easily differentiated from
H. simplex
and
H. carinata
Marshall
, 1991
, which have more angular shell profiles similar to specimens of
Seguenzia
Jeffreys, 1876
.