Dadagulella ecclesiola sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: CCE56537-B647-4144-AB07-FE322A139087

Figs 28, 49, 56, 84; Table 1

Etymology

From Latin ‘ ecclesiola ’, feminine, diminutive of ‘church’ (or ‘the church’); used arbitrarily to distinguish the species from D. minareta sp. nov. with which it occurs.

Type material examined

TANZANIA: holotype NMW.Z.2003.001.00015: 1 ad., Kimboza Forest Reserve (7.01°S, 37.78°E), Uluguru Mts, Morogoro District, lowland forest on limestone, approx. 300 m alt., leg. BR, PT, MBS, & CFN, 5 Feb. 2003. Paratypes NMW. Z. 2003.001.00016: 8 ads, data as holotype. Paratype MRAC. MT. 803794: 1 ad., data as holotype. Paratype NHMUK. 20120259: 1 ad., data as holotype. Paratype NMK: 1 ad., data as holotype. Paratype NMT: 1 ad., data as holotype. Paratype NMSA. L 8692/T3061: 1 ad., data as holotype. Paratype RMNH. MOL. 288089: 1 ad., data as holotype .

Other material examined

TANZANIA: NMW. Z.2003.001.00017: 1 ad., data as holotype, sequenced by Rowson et al. (2010 a) as “ Gulella cf. browni Uluguru ”. NMW. Z.2003.001.00018: 3 ads in poor condition, 3 juvs, data as holotype.

Description

SHELL (Figs 28, 49, 56). Small to medium-sized (3.20 - 3.70 mm high x 1.80 - 1.90 mm wide), of 5.5 - 7.0 whorls. Ovate-acuminate, spire narrowly accuminate (spire angle 53 - 65°). Apex pointed. Embryonic whorls smoothly granulate. Later whorls with relatively coarse, often sinuous ribs (8 - 14 per mm on penultimate whorl). Sutures deep. Umbilicus closed. Peristome complete. Outer palatal surface of aperture with a depression, often furrow-like, corresponding to the palatal tooth. Dentition 4-fold, consisting of: one strongly oblique parietal tooth, V-shaped when shell turned to the left; one large slablike palatal tooth, forming a narrow, horizontal parieto-palatal sinus; and a deep-set columellar baffle. A basal denticle is also present, presumably in all specimens, but is partly or completely hidden by the palatal tooth which occludes much of the aperture. The denticle is visible when the shell is turned to the right (Fig. 56). Juvenile shells not known with certainty: an individual from Kimboza (Fig. 49), with dentition like that of a juvenile D. r. radius comb. nov., might belong to this species. Anatomy unknown.

Range and habitat

In forest at the type locality in the eastern Tanzanian lowlands.

Remarks

This species has much simpler dentition than D. minareta sp. nov. (which also occurs at Kimboza), and is usually smaller, with straight rather than sinuous ribs. Its dentition is more like that of D. r. radius comb. nov. (which again also occurs at Kimboza; Fig. 16) and D. minuscula minuscula (Morelet, 1877) comb. nov. but D. ecclesiola sp. nov. lacks the shallow columellar tooth, has a hidden or partly hidden basal denticle, and has a much narrower parieto-palatal sinus. It further differs from D. minuscula minuscula comb. nov. in having stronger ribs.