Pseudotalopia taiwanensis ( Chen, 2006 )

Helwerda, Renate Ariane, Wesselingh, Frank Pieter & Williams, Suzanne T., 2014, On some Vetigastropoda (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from the Plio-Pleistocene of the Philippines with descriptions of three new species, Zootaxa 3755 (2), pp. 101-135 : 119-121

Pseudotalopia taiwanensis ( Chen, 2006) nov. comb.

( Figures 45–47 )

2006 Gibbula taiwanensis nov. spec.—Chen: p. 21, fig. 1. 2007 Gibbula taiwanensis —Chen & Fu: p. 67, fig. 2.

Material. Anda 3 (1 adult); Tiep 2 (1 damaged specimen); Tiep 3 (1 juvenile).

Characterization. Domed, thick trochiform shell with narrow spiral ribs, a well-developed basal keel and color blotches on a pinkish background color, H 5.9 mm, W 7.3 mm; protoconch glossy white, DN 0.08–0.09 mm; P/T boundary poorly defined at 1.2 whorls; inner lip white, glossy, columellar lip twisted; deep, narrow umbilicus with spiral cord and weak lamellae.

Distribution. Hitherto the species has only been reported from waters off Taiwan, on sandy bottoms, 150–200 m depth ( Chen 2006).

Remarks. Chen (2006) found a specimen of this species inside the stomach of a starfish, so apparently this species is predated on by starfishes. The deep-water Indo-West Pacific species currently assigned to Gibbula are likely unrelated to that European genus of intertidal species (STW unpub. genetic data). We tentatively assign ‘ Gibbula’ taiwanensis to the deep-sea genus Pseudotalopia based on preliminary genetic data (STW). Molecular data show that Pseudotalopia should be assigned to the trochid subfamily Cantharidinae ( Williams 2012) .

Figures

FIGURES 45 – 52. Trochidae. 45. Pseudotalopia taiwanensis Chen, 2006. RGM 608.316. Locality Anda 3. (a) rear view, (b) apertural view, (c) basal view, (d) apical view. 46. Pseudotalopia taiwanensis Chen, 2006. RGM 608.317. Locality Tiep 3. (a) rear view, (b) apertural view, (c) basal view, (d) apical view, (e) detail protoconch. 47. Pseudotalopia taiwanensis Chen, 2006. RGM 608.318. Locality Tiep 2. (a) rear view, (b) detail protoconch. 48. Conotalopia musiva (Gould, 1861). RGM 608.319. Locality AndaDeVos. (a) rear view, (b) apertural view, (c) basal view, (d) apical view. 49. Conotalopia musiva (Gould, 1861). RGM 608.320. Locality AndaDeVos. (a) SEM, side view, (b) SEM detail of protoconch.