Palaina alberti, Neubert, Eike & Bouchet, Philippe, 2015

Neubert, Eike & Bouchet, Philippe, 2015, The Diplommatinidae of Fiji - a hotspot of Pacific land snail biodiversity (Caenogastropoda, Cyclophoroidea), ZooKeys 487, pp. 1-85 : 42-43

Taxon classification Animalia Mesogastropoda Diplommatinidae

Palaina alberti sp. n. Figs 95-97

Type material.

Holotype ZMZ 526680, paratypes ZMZ 526680/3. Type locality: Viti Levu, Nagar[r]a [probably now Naqara; also spelled Nanggara, south-east of Viti Levu], coll. Mousson ex Graeffe, 1868.

Etymology.

This species is named in honour of Albert Mousson who pioneered the description of the Fiji diplommatinid fauna.

Diagnosis.

Shell dextral, small, bulb inconspicuous, columellaris visible in frontal view forming a short horizontal lamella, bulb lamella visible as a fine white line in frontal apertural view.

Description.

Shell dextral, small, broadly oval, whitish to greenish; protoconch acute, granulated; last whorl not constricted, slightly ascending; bulb inconspicuous; umbilicus slit-like, periomphalum narrow; sculpture of teleoconch whorls with widely spaced ribs; aperture subquadrate, with two ear-like processes, simple, adhered to the last whorl; peristome with a labial callus; columellaris visible in frontal view; internally, columellaris forming a short horizontal lamella coiling into the interior of the shell; bulb lamella present, visible as a fine white line in frontal apertural view.

Operculum corneous, strongly concave, with a long lamella on the outer surface, internally smooth, OD = 0.7.

Measurements.

Holotype (Fig. 95): H = 3.76; D = 2.3; PH = 1.69; PD = 1.72; W = 6.

Distribution.

Only known from the type locality.

Remarks.

Palaina alberti sp. n. was identified by Mousson as " Diplommatina Godeffroyana var. latecostata ", but can easily be separated from that species by its dextral shell. Additionally, it differs from Palaina latecostata by the columellaris, which in Palaina alberti is visible in the aperture, and forms a horizontal lamella. No dextral Palaina species is currently known from Fiji.