Spiralinella Chaster, 1901

Høisaeter, Tore, 2014, The Pyramidellidae (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) of Norway and adjacent waters. A taxonomic review, Fauna norvegica 34, pp. 7-78 : 19

Spiralinella Chaster, 1901

Type species by original designation, Turbo spiralis Montagu, 1803 ; Britain

Pyramidellids with small (<3.5 mm long), elongate-ovate to truncated, conical, solid shells, of not more than six whorls. Sculpture consisting of axial ribs, and spiral sculpture, as raised costae on base. Columellar fold present, though sometimes rather retracted. Protoconch medium-sized to small, intorted. Operculum (Figure 20) oligogyrous, thin, with no indentation for the columellar fold. Yellowish, internal process of moderate thickness, gradually decreasing in thickness towards the opercular edges from the walls around a central, slightly arched groove. Tentacles triangular with tentacular pads at their tip. Pigmented mantle organ irregularly oval to circular consisting of yellow and brown patches.

Partulida Schaufuss, 1869 has been used as name for this group (e.g. Iredale 1917, Fretter et al. 1986, Graham 1988, Høisaeter 1989, Smith & Heppell 1991, van Aartsen et al. 2000). This is the oldest name with Turbo spiralis designated as type species ( Iredale 1917). However, as Corgan (1973) pointed out, Turbo spiralis is not available as it was not mentioned in Schaufuss (1869). The next oldest name is Spiralinella Chaster, 1901 , which is adopted by e.g. Schander et al. (2003).