Taxonomic review of tropical western Atlantic shallow water Drilliidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Conoidea) including descriptions of 100 new species
Author
Fallon, Phillip J.
text
Zootaxa
2016
4090
1
1
363
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4090.1.1
e6b35f5a-435e-4473-b29e-1e4d842f84b0
1175-5326
263299
203BAC25-B542-48FE-B5AD-EBA8C0285833
Bellaspira amplicostata
,
new species
(
Plate 4
)
Type
material.
Holotype
7.4 x
3.5 mm
(UF 449328); 11
paratypes
, 6.6 x 3.0, 7.3 x 3.2, 8.0 x 3.2, 6.9 x 3.0, 7.0 x 3.2, 7.1 x 3.0, 7.2 x 3.2, 6.6 x 3.0, 7.1 x 3.2, 6.2 x 2.9 & 7.5 x 3.3, all from the
type
locality (UF 449327). Riley Black!
20 Apr 1967
.
Type
locality.
NE of Contoy Light, Contoy I., Quintana Roo,
Mexico
, in
183 m
.
Range and habitat.
Known only from the
type
locality.
Description.
Shell
very small (to
7.5 mm
), stoutly fusiform, truncated anteriorly, glossy, with up to 7 convex whorls, suture impressed—undulates over preceding whorl’s ribs; heavily ribbed. Last whorl large, approximately 64% of total shell length.
Protoconch
of 2 whorls, the first partially immersed in the second giving the shell apex a bluntly round shape.
Axial sculpture
of broad, round ribs that extend from suture-to-suture, evanesce on body whorl at anterior fasciole, intercostal space narrower than ribs; 7–8 on penultimate and 4–6 on body whorl to varix. Growth striae present, heaviest on rib sides.
Vari x
consists of a slightly thickened last rib within ⅓-turn of the edge of the outer lip.
Spiral sculpture
of very fine, weak incised lines over the entire teleoconch.
Sulcus
absent, there is little change in the ribs in the sulcal area.
Outer lip
thin, and forms a continuous low arc to the end of the anterior canal. No evidence of a stromboid notch present.
Anal sinus
a wide but shallow indentation of outer lip edge when shell is viewed laterally; an inverted V-shape at suture when shell viewed ventrally; callus present on both the parietal wall and inside of outer lip of sinus.
Inner lip
recumbent, margined, broader along columella, narrower on parietal wall.
Anterior canal
short, open, curved to the left viewed ventrally; end with a shallow notch. Anterior fasciole not swollen.
Color
off white with apex and intercostal space a light creamy brown.
Remarks.
Taxonomy.
Bellaspira amplicostata
exhibits the characteristics of the genus with axial ribs that extend from suture-to-suture (in this case without any change in the sulcal area), with a varix consisting of a slightly expanded rib, with an anal sinus typical of the genus, and with surface microsculpture of fine spiral incised lines. The incised lines in this species are feeble, even obsolete on some portions of the shell surface, perhaps due to wear. Also different are the heavy growth striae that appear on the sides of the ribs, but are reduced in the intercostal space. Striae are generally weaker in other species of
Bellaspira
, the spiral lines stronger.
Variability.
The average length of 12 examined specimens is
7.08 mm
(6.2–8.0 mm); their average width to length
ratio
(W/L) is 0.445. No variation in color is observed in the single
type
lot of
12 specimens
.
Identification.
This shell is unique with its uniformly but narrowly spaced wide ribs. From
B. pentagonalis
(Dall, 1889)
it differs in having 7–8 ribs, not 5 on the penultimate and whorl, and in coloration—the darker color is between the ribs, not on rib crests. From
B. aurantiaca
,
new species
it differs in possessing broader ribs, and a different coloration.
Etymology.
The Large-ribbed
Bellaspira
, from the Latin adjectives
amplus
(large) and
costatus
(ribbed). Named after an outstanding feature of this species—its large ribs.