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A systematic review of "Asthenotoma spiralis (Smith, 1872)" in West Africa, with description of two new species (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Conoidea)

Serge GOFAS & Emilio ROLÁN

en Zoosystema 31 (1) - Pages 5-16

Published on 27 March 2009

The West African marine species generally known as Asthenotoma spiralis (Smith, 1872) is revised, and transferred to the genus Tomopleura Casey, 1904. This specific name is shown to be preoccupied and a replacement name Tomopleura spiralissima n. nom. is provided. Two further species Tomopleura fuscocincta n. sp. and T. tricincta n. sp., hitherto confused with T. spiralis, are described with a type locality in Angola. All three species have larval shells indicating a planktotrophic development and therefore good ability for dispersal, and all three are broadly sympatric across the entire West African region from Senegal to Angola. They are nevertheless differentiated in microhabitat and normally do not occur together in the same samples.


Keywords:

Mollusca, Gastropoda, Conoidea, Turridae, West Africa, protoconch, new species.

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