Bellardiella (Bellardiella) crassilabris Möllendorff, 1899

Varga, András & Páll-Gergely, Barna, 2017, A review of Bellardiella Tapparone-Canefri, 1883, with descriptions of a new subgenus and two new species (Gastropoda: Cyclophoroidea: Pupinidae), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 65, pp. 386-394 : 387

Bellardiella (Bellardiella) crassilabris Möllendorff, 1899

( Fig. 2 A–E)

Bellardiella crassilabris Möllendorff, 1899: 91–92 .

Bellardiella crassilabris , — Benthem-Jutting, 1963: 691.

Diagnosis. A small (H: 11.8–12 mm, D: 7–7.5 mm) Bellardiella species with ovoid, nearly smooth shell, open, but very narrow umbilicus, rounded aperture, well-developed sinulus, an additional incision on the columellar side of the peristome, a weak parietal callus, a strongly thickened peristome and an umbilical tube, which is attached to the body whorl.

Type locality. “Angeblich von Borneo aber wohl sicher von Neuguinea” (allegedly from Borneo, but quite certainly from New Guinea) .

Remarks. Operculum unknown. This species was described based on a single shell from Bruno Strubell’s collection. No illustrations of Bellardiella crassilabris have ever been published. The whereabouts of the holotype is unknown, and it is certainly not in the SMF where most of Möllendorff’s types are housed (R. Janssen pers. comm., May 2016). We found a single shell labelled as Bellardiella crassilabris in the NHM (reg. no.: NHMUK 1910.12.30.97). No information on the origin of this specimen was written on the label, only “New Guinea ”. Interestingly, the measurements of that specimen (D: 7 mm, H: 11.8 mm) largely match the sizes given by Möllendorff (D: 7.5 mm, H: 12 mm). According to the museum catalogue, the NHM purchased that specimens from Sowerby and Fulton sometime before 1910 together with, for example, the type sample of Amphidromus buelowi Fruhstorfer, 1905 (reg. no.: NHMUK 191012.30.98). It is likely that the purchased specimens were part of Carl Bülow’s private collection, where the collection of Strubell has ended up ( Dance 1986: 157). All this information suggests that the single Bellardiella specimen is possibly the holotype of B. crassilabris , although the evidence is not strong enough for clear statement. Since the original measurements and the description match the shell we found, we designate it the neotype of Bellardiella crassilabris Möllendorff, 1899 . See also under Discussion.

Figures

Fig. 2. Shells of Bellardiella species. A–E, neotype of B. crassilabris Möllendorff, 1899 (NHMUK 1910.12.30.97); F–L, Bellardiella (Bellardiella) kovacsi new species. F, paratype (MMGY 74594); G–L, holotype (MMGY 74592). Scale represents 5 mm. Photos: B. Páll-Gergely (A–E) and A. Varga (F–L).