Turbonilla korantengi, Lygre, Frøydis & Schander, Christoffer, 2010

Lygre, Frøydis & Schander, Christoffer, 2010, Six new species of pyramidellids (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Pyramidelloidea) from West Africa, introducing the new genus Kongsrudia, Zootaxa 2657, pp. 1-17 : 9-13

Turbonilla korantengi new species

( Fig 7 A–E )

Type material: Holotype, Bergen Museum ZMBN 86662.

Type locality: Republic of Congo station CR2, 04 º 29’S, 10º 56’E, 162 m.

Material examined: Type material.

Etymology: The species is named in honor of Dr. Kwame Koranteng who is the present EAF coordinator of FAO-FIMF. He is a past chairman of the GOOS-AFRICA coordinating committee and a former director of the Marine Fisheries Division (MFRD) at the ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana. His work has been for the good of marine biology and fisheries research in the area.

Description: Shell very small, delicate, conical, milky white and semitransparent with rounded apex. Protoconch of type A-II, small. Whorls convex, turreted. Suture distinct, rather deep. Axial ribs slightly elevated, not equal or equidistant, sinuous and orthocline. Ribs equally broad or broader than interspaces, ending abruptly at the periphery of the ultimate whorl. Spiral sculpture consisting of ten ridges, very fine and thin, unequal, not equidistant. The uppermost and four lowermost ridges crossing axial ribs, the others only seen in interspaces. The ridge above the middle of the whorl is stronger and more prominent than the ridges below the middle. Seven spiral ridges are present on the base. Aperture oval. No columellar tooth. Narrow umbilical fissure.

Distribution: Congo, 162 m.

Remarks: Turbonilla korantengi is easily distinguished from all other Turbonilla species from West Africa. Turbonilla franciscoi Peñas & Rolán, 1997 has a similar protoconch and to some degree shape, but is easily distinguished by a different sculpture. Turbonilla hattenbergeri Peñas & Rolán, 1997 resembles this species to a certain degree, but the protoconch is more protruding, the whorls more convex and the spiral sculpture is more equally distributed.

Figures

FIGURE 7 A – E. Turbonilla korantengi n. sp. A: Holotype teleoconch, station CR 2, Republic of Congo, 04 º 29 ’ S 10 º 56 ’ E; B-C: Holotype protoconch; D: Holotype details of the sculpture and base; E: Holotype details of the sculpture.