Spiralinella spiralis ( Montagu, 1803 )

Høisaeter, Tore, 2014, The Pyramidellidae (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) of Norway and adjacent waters. A taxonomic review, Fauna norvegica 34, pp. 7-78 : 19-21

Spiralinella spiralis ( Montagu, 1803)

Figures 16-20

Turbo spiralis Montagu, 1803:323 (not Poiret, 1801)

Turbonilla spiralis (Montagu) - Lovén 1846a, b

Chemnitzia spiralis (Montagu) - Clark 1855

Odostomia spiralis (Montagu) - Alder 1848; Forbes & Hanley 1850 -51; M. Sars 1859; Jeffreys 1867; Jeffreys 1870; M. Sars 1870; Friele 1874; A. Brown 1875; Norman 1879; Jeffreys 1884; Marshall 1900

Odostomia (Parthenia) spiralis (Montagu) - Collin 1880; Spärck & Thorson 1933

Parthenia spiralis (Montagu) - G.O. Sars 1878; Collin 1884; Schneider 1886; Petersen 1888; Norman 1892; Friele & Grieg 1901

Parthenina spiralis (Montagu) - Kobelt 1903

Pyrgulina spiralis (Montagu) - Norman 1902

Pyrgulina (Spiralinella) spiralis (Montagu) - Dautzenberg & Fischer 1925

Chrysallida spiralis (Montagu) - van Aartsen 1977; Warén 1991; van der Linden & Eikenboom 1992

Chrysallida (Partulida) spiralis (Montagu) - Winckworth 1932; Høisaeter 1986

Partulida spiralis (Montagu) - Iredale 1917; Fretter et al. 1986; Graham 1988; Høisaeter 1989; Smith & Heppell 1991

Voluta pellucida Dillwyn, 1817:508 (new name for Turbo spiralis Montagu , not Gmelin)

Chrysallida pellucida (Dillwyn) - van Aartsen & Gianuzzi-Savelli 1991; Schander 1995; Peñas et al. 1996; Høisaeter 2009

Chrysallida (Partulida) pellucida (Dillwyn) – van Aartsen et al. 2000

Spiralinella pellucida (Dillwyn) - Schander et al. 2003

Type material: Three syntypes, RAMME no. 4240 , three syntypes BMNH (fide Warén 1991) .

Type locality: Salcombe Bay , Devonshire on the southern British coast (fide Warén 1991) .

Material seen: Norway - Skagerrak , 30 spms ; Hordaland, 3600 spms; Møre og Romsdal a few shs; Nord-Trøndelag, a few shs; Nordland, 67 spms.

Diagnosis: Shell: Easily recognized on its distinctive sculpture, with strong flatsided axial ribs on upper part of each whorl and equally strong spiral ribs on the base of the last whorl. Soft parts: Foot rather broad and short, truncated and a little concave anteriorly, narrowed a little behind the front, widening further behind and ending in a blunt point. Triangular tentacles with tentacular pads, eyes fairly small, mentum short and narrow with a rounded tip (Figure 19). Pigmented mantle organ (Figure 19) an irregular blotch with yellow and brown parts. Operculum: Have a channeled internal process and without a distinct marginal notch (Figure 20).

Biology: According to Fretter et al. (1986) mostly associated with tubes of sedentary polychaetes, colonies of Sabellaria ( Fretter 1949) and Pomatoceros ( Ankel 1959) . In each of 12 samples from Hillersholmen in which the primary substrate was aggregations of Pomatoceros , hundreds of specimens was found. In this locality S. spiralis was consistently at least three times as common as P. interstincta . In the locality at Knappensundet most common on Modiolus-Limaria substrate. At this locality present in many samples with very little Pomatoceros present ( Høisaeter 1989). S. spiralis was most abundant (50 specimens) in a 1/2x1/ 2 m sample from 11 m, completely dominated by Limaria hians and living specimens as well as empty shells of Modiolus . In the field notes it is noted that Pomatoceros was present but very sparingly. In this and a neighbouring sample (also with very little Pomatoceros ), six species of pyramidellids occurred in almost equal numbers.

Distribution: This species is one of the few north-European pyramidellids recognizable at a glance, and therefore with more reliable records than most. In Norway it has been reported from the whole coast, east Finnmark included ( Verkrüzen 1875, G.O. Sars 1878, Norman 1902). In my material one of the most abundant pyramidellids, with altogether more than 3600 specimens from the Espegrend area. On the coast north of Stadt 70 specimens (most of them from Nordland county, leg. Per Wikander), and more than 220 shells. The northernmost specimen is from Kvaefjorden in southern Troms (68°50’N, 30 m, rocky bottom with lots of red algae ( Ptilota plumosa )). The shells were primarily from Nordland south of Bodø and from Nord-Trøndelag. Outside Norway known from the Faroes ( Schander 1995), south-western Iceland ( Warén 1991), the British Isles, south to the western Mediterranean, and sparingly at the Canary Islands.

Remarks: Turbo spiralis Montagu, 1803 is preoccupied by Turbo spiralis Poiret, 1801 and should therefore be replaced by Voluta pellucida Dillwyn, 1817 (van Aartsen & Gianuzzi-Savelli 1991). Their justifications for this name change are not convincing, however. The main reason is the 50-year rule as expressed in ICZN: “Prevailing usage must be maintained when the following conditions are both met. 23.9.1.1 - the senior synonym or homonym has not been used as a valid name after 1899. 23.9.1.2 - the junior synonym or homonym has been used for a particular taxon, as its presumed valid name, in at least 25 works, published by at least 10 authors in the immediately preceding 50 years, and encompassing a span of not less than 10 years. Both of these ‘rules’ are amply met for Turbo spiralis . Van der Linden & Eikenboom (1992) prefer the well known name, C. spiralis for the same reasons as given above. C. pellucida has been adopted by CLEMAM (2014) however, but else (to my knowledge) only van Aartsen & Gianuzzi-Savelli (1991), Schander (1995), van Aartsen et al. (2000), and Høisaeter (2009) have used pellucida for this species.

My reason for excluding this species from Parthenina is the indication from the 16S analysis in Schander et al. (2003) that S. spiralis is belonging to another clade than three members of Parthenina .