Scaphander bushirensis ( Melvill & Standen, 1901 )

Siegwald, Justine & Malaquias, Manuel António E., 2025, Bringing light into deep-sea biodiversity: a systematic revision and molecular phylogeny of the genus Scaphander Montfort, 1810 (Gastropoda: Cephalaspidea), with a focus on the Indo-Pacific, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 203, pp. 1-60 : 53

Scaphander bushirensis ( Melvill & Standen, 1901)

[original designation Cylichna bushirensis Melvill & Standen, 1901 ]

Remarks: This species was described from the Persian Gulf under the genus Cylichna ( Melvill & Standen 1901) and was reassigned to the genus Scaphander by one of its authors ( Melvill 1906). The name Scaphander bushirensis ( Melvill & Standen, 1901) was subsequently used on a few occasions (e.g. Brouwer et al. 2000, Al-Kayat et al. 2021) and is today the accepted name for this species (MolluscaBase 2022b). Despite the small size of the shell (H ≈ 9 mm), it is well formed and seems to be an adult. Its robustness, presence of deep spiral striae all over the shell, smooth, thick columella, convex lateral sides, and slight pyriform shape could point to Scaphander , but during the present study we did not find any material resembling this shell among worldwide collections from this geographical area, and no adult Scaphander species of such small size are known. We maintain here this species in the genus Scaphander , but this taxonomic affiliation warrants caution and future confirmation ( Fig. 38B ).

Figures

Figure 38.Shells of taxa previously assigned to Scaphander. A, Sabatia takedai, Hawaii, Oahu Island, off Honolulu (paratype, Nipponoscaphander takedai, NSMT Mo-58234, H = 6 mm). B, Cslichna boshirensis, Persian Gulf, Bushire (syntype, NHMUK 1901.12.9.55, H = 9 mm). C, Cslichna ceslanica, [illustration by Annandale and Stewart (1909) of the original material for Scaphander ceslanica collected on the Investigator, H = 9 mm]. D, Cslichniom willeti, Alaska, Forrester Island (holotype, Scaphander willeti, USNM 216405, H = 12.5 mm).