Helix gamma Pfeiffer, 1853

Pl. 3, fig. E

Pfeiffer, 1853. Monographia heliceorum viventium, 3: 100.

Type material: Syntypes (6), NHMUK 1996017 (dry shell material); ex Museum Cuming (Acc. no. 1829) .

Label details: ‘ H. gamma Pfr N. Zealand’—in Pfeiffer’s handwriting.

Type locality: ‘Nova Seelandia’ (Pfeiffer 1853a: 100; 1854a: 57).

Previous illustrations of type material: Reeve (1852 [in 1851–1854]: pl. 133 fig. 821—as Helix buccinella).

Remarks: Helix buccinella Reeve, 1852 and H. gamma Pfeiffer, 1853 are based on the same type material, which H. Cuming had obtained from the Australian-based naturalist Frederick Strange. Pfeiffer evidently intended to publish the original description of this species in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London issue for 1851 (see Reeve 1852 [in 1851–1854]: species 821; Pfeiffer 1853a: 100), but publication was delayed until 1854 (Pfeiffer 1854a: 57), and was pre-empted by Reeve (1852 [in 1851–1854]) [note that the publication date of ‘ October 1851 ’ listed for plate 133 of Reeve (1851 –1854) is presumed to be an error, as the immediately preceding and following plates were dated ‘ October 1852 ’ (see Petit 2007: table 3)].

Current Taxonomy: Treated as a junior synonym of Helix buccinella Reeve, 1852 by Martens (1873: 10), Hutton (1884b:192), Hedley & Suter (1893: 654), Suter (1894d: 262, 1913b: 714), Climo (1969a: 208) and Powell (1979: 307).