Bulimus salteri Sowerby III, 1890

Breure, Abraham S. H. & Ablett, Jonathan D., 2015, Annotated type catalogue of the Megaspiridae, Orthalicidae, and Simpulopsidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Orthalicoidea) in the Natural History Museum, London, ZooKeys 470, pp. 17-143 : 43-44

Bulimus salteri Sowerby III, 1890 Figs 13i-ii, L17i

Bulimus salteri Sowerby III 1890: 578, pl. 50 fig. 4; Breure 1979: 45.

Type locality.

"Catamarca, Andes Peruviae".

Label.

"Andes of Peru"; printed label.

Dimensions.

"Long. 70, maj. diam. 35 mill.". Figured specimen H 69.9, D 35.2, W 6.0.

Type material.

NHMUK 1907.11.21.118, lectotype (da Costa coll.).

Remarks.

Sowerby also described a (larger) "var. γ”, and remarked "[t]he two shells form part of the collection of Mr. S.J. Da Costa, and there is a specimen of each variety [typical one and var. γ] in the National Collection at South Kensington [= NHMUK]". The original series thus seems to have comprised two specimens, and the reference in Breure (1979) to "HT BMNH 1907.11.21.118" has to be interpreted as lectotype designation under Art. 74.6 ICZN, also following Recommendation 73F. We have, however, not been able to locate a varietal form of this taxon in the da Costa collection within the NHMUK. In the General collection we found two specimens. One is labeled " Thaumastus salteri / Andes of Peru / Purch Sowerby", and is registered as NHMUK 1883.10.24.8 (it is listed in the register as Orthalicus and no specific name). The second specimen is labelled " salteri var. / Peru / Mus. Cuming"; this is the only specimen with a varietal label, but nonetheless dubious if it belonged to the original series and Sowerby’s varietal shell may have been lost from the collection. This taxon has hitherto been classified with Thaumastus (Quechua) Strebel, 1910. Given the results of Breure and Romero (2012), who found that subgenera of Thaumastus belong to different families, the familial association of this taxon is tentatively made to the Orthalicidae , and Quechua is provisionally given generic status, pending further anatomical and molecular studies.

Current systematic position.

? Orthalicidae , Quechua salteri (Sowerby III, 1890) (comb. n.).