Turricaspia elegantula (Clessin & Dybowski in Dybowski, 1887)

*1887 Micromelania elegantula Clessin & Dybowski in Dybowski: 33.

1888 [ Micromelania] elegantula n. sp. - Dybowski: 78, pl. 1, fig. 7 a–c .

2016 Turricaspia elegantula (Clessin & W. Dybowski in W. Dybowski, 1888). - Vinarski and Kantor: 247-248.

Status. Pontocaspian species, identity uncertain.

Type locality. Caspian Sea (no details).

Distribution. Endemic to the Caspian Sea. This species was mentioned from depths between 200 and 300 m in the South Caspian Basin of Azerbaijan (Mirzoev and Alekperov 2017).

Taxonomic notes. There is considerable confusion about the identity of this species. Dybowski (1887) described and illustrated a very slender shell with a distinct whorl profile showing a straight-sided upper half and a convex lower half. In contrast, the illustrations in Logvinenko and Starobogatov (1969) suggest a similarly slender yet distorted shell with near almost sided whorls and expanded aperture. A restudy of the type material of T. elegantula show close similarities to T. spica . It differs from that species in the more slender outline and flattened whorls.

Conservation status. Not assessed.