Eulimidae, Philippi, 1853

Gofas, Serge, Luque, Ángel A., Oliver, Joan Daniel, Templado, José & Serrano, Alberto, 2021, The Mollusca of Galicia Bank (NE Atlantic Ocean), European Journal of Taxonomy 785 (1), pp. 1-114 : 51-52

Key to the species of Eulimidae found in the GB

Adapted from Bouchet & Warén (1986), to whom we refer for a detailed account of identification criteria and for descriptive terminology. Caution must be taken as more species are likely to occur on GB, so that the identification through the key should be carefully checked against the illustrations; Bouchet & Warén (1986) should anyway be consulted regarding this group. The supraspecific classification in this group still needs elaboration, and “ Eulima ” with quotes is used (e.g., Bouchet & Warén 1986) as a catchall for nondescript species for which a generic assignment is not straightforward.

1. Apex and/or whole shell brownish or yellowish, or with a pattern with such colours ..................... 2

– Apex and rest of shell colourless ....................................................................................................... 4

2. Teleoconch with a blurry yellowish band ........................................................................................... .................................................. “ Eulima ” leptozona Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896 ( Fig. 19H‒I )

– Teleoconch colourless or uniformly yellowish ................................................................................. 3

3. Last whorl about half of the total height ............................................................................................. ................................................................ Fuscapex cabiochi Bouchet & Warén, 1986 ( Fig. 20C–D )

– Last whorl about 40% or less of the total height ................................................................................ ................................................................... Batheulima fuscoapicata ( Jeffreys, 1884) ( Fig. 20A–B )

4. Shell with a thin columella and an umbilical chink, without any scars of growth stages ................ 5

– Shell with thickened columella, imperforate, with scars marking former growth stages (may need careful examination under strong illumination reflected on the glossy surface) .............................. 7

5. Shell rather large (may be> 10 mm), with distinct prosocline ribs .................................................... .................................................................................... Costaclis mizon (Watson, 1881) ( Fig. 20O–P )

– Shell small, smooth or with axial growth lines ................................................................................. 6

6. Last whorl nearly half of the total height ............................................................................................ ................................................................... Hemiaclis obtusa Bouchet & Warén, 1986 ( Fig. 20K–L )

– Last whorl hardly more than one-third of total height ..... Aclis walleri Jeffreys, 1867 ( Fig. 20M–N )

7. Shell axis straight, shell regularly coiled .......................................................................................... 8

– Shell axis bent or twisted ................................................................................................................ 12

8. Whorls distinctly convex .................................................................................................................. 9

– Whorls flat ...................................................................................................................................... 10

9. Shell tall, last whorl less than half the total height ............................................................................. ...................................................... Melanella cf. myriotrochi Bouchet & Warén, 1986 ( Fig. 19F‒G )

– Shell relatively short, last whorl about 60% of total height ............................................................... ......................................... Bathycrinicola talaena (Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896) ( Fig. 20G–H )

10. Larval shell with more than two whorls, apex pointed ....................................................................... ............................................................... “ Eulima ” anonyma Bouchet & Warén, 1986 ( Fig. 19J–K )

– Larval shell with less than 2 whorls, apex globose .........................................................................11

11. Shell about 2 mm, cylindrical, with flaring outer lip .......................................................................... .................................................................. Fusceulima digitalis Hoffman & Engl, 2021 ( Fig. 20I–J )

– Shell reaching more than 2 mm, high-conical, outer lip not flaring ................................................... ................................................................................. Melanella jeffreysi (Tryon, 1886) ( Fig. 19D‒E )

12. Shell small (<3 mm) and curved only in one plane, parietal edge continuous with columella ......... .......................................................... Eulitoma obtusiuscula Bouchet & Warén, 1986 ( Fig. 19L–O )

– Shell large (> 5 mm), distorted, parietal edge and columella differentiated ................................... 13

13. Shell very slender (h/w> 3.6) ............................................................................................................. .......................... Campylorhaphion machaeropsis (Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896) ( Fig. 20E–F )

– Shell moderately slender (h/w about 3) .............................................................................................. .............................................. Melanella spiridioni (Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896) ( Fig. 19A–C )

Figures

Fig. 19. Eulimidae 1. A–C. Melanella spiridioni (Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896) and detail of protoconch, BANGAL 0711, V5, 1631 m, 6.0 mm. D–E. Melanella jeffreysi (Tryon, 1886), BANGAL 0711, V2, 1706 m, 4.3 mm. F–G. Melanella cf. myriotrochi Bouchet & Warén, 1986, BANGAL 0711, V2, 7.6 mm. H–I. “Eulima” leptozona Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896, SEAMOUNT 1, DW111, 675–685 m, 3.8 mm. J–K. “Eulima” anonyma Bouchet & Warén, 1986, BANGAL 0711, V2, 3.3 mm. L–O. Eulitoma obtusiuscula Bouchet & Warén, 1986, BANGAL 0711, DR15, 1410 m, 2.4 and 1.85 mm. Scale bar for A–B, D–O = 1 mm; C = 200 µm.

Fig. 20. Eulimidae 2. A–B. Batheulima fuscoapicata (Jeffreys, 1884), BANGAL 0711, DR15, 1410 m, 5.5 mm. C–D. Fuscapex cabiochi Bouchet & Warén, 1986, BANGAL 0711, DR15, 4.4 mm. E–F. Campyloraphion machaeropsis (Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896), SEAMOUNT 1, DW108, 1110–1125 m, 8.0 mm.G–H. Bathycrinicola talaena (Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896), SEAMOUNT 1, DW116, 985–1000 m, 3.5 mm. I–J. Fusceulima digitalis Hoffman & Engl, 2021, BANGAL 0711, DR15, 2.0 mm. K–L. Hemiaclis obtusa Bouchet & Warén, 1986, BANGAL 0711, V10, 1720 m, 2.7 mm. M–N. Aclis walleri Jeffreys, 1867, BANGAL 0711, V5, 1631 m, 4.3 mm. O–P. Costaclis mizon (Watson, 1881), BANGAL 0711, V10, 9.8 mm. Scale bars = 1 mm.