Stylifer thielei Sturany, 1903

Albano, Paolo G., Bakker, Piet A. J., Janssen, Ronald & Eschner, Anita, 2017, An illustrated catalogue of Rudolf Sturany's type specimens in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Austria (NHMW): Red Sea gastropods, Zoosystematics and Evolution 93 (1), pp. 45-94 : 54

Stylifer thielei Sturany, 1903 Figure 7

Stylifer thielei Sturany, 1903: 258, with text figure.

Type locality.

Locality 31, "Jidda (Djeddah)" [Jeddah, Saudi Arabia] 22°- 20°N.

Type material.

Destroyed.

Original description.

Von der Localität 31; ein einziges Exemplar.

Die merkwürdig gestaltete und insbesondere auch durch den geschweiften Mundrand ausgezeichnete Schale ist aus 5 Umgängen aufgebaut und besitzt einen zitzenförmigen Apex. Sie entbehrt jedweder Sculptur, ist matt im Glänze und weiß der Farbe nach. Höhe der Schale 5 ½, Breite 3 ½ mm. Herr Prof. Dr. Johannes Thiele in Berlin war so freundlich, die Weichtheile dieser Schnecke zu untersuchen und vor der nothwendig gewordenen Zertrümmerung der Schale die beigegebenen Zeichnungen anzufertigen. Zufolge des Fehlens einer Radula gehört das Thier zur Gattung Stylifer Brod.

Translation.

From the locality 31; a single specimen.

The remarkably shaped shell is characterized by the curly lip, it consists of five whorls and has a teat-shaped apex. It lacks any sculpture, is dull in lustre and white in colour. Height of shell 5.5, width 3.5 mm. Prof. Dr. Johannes Thiele in Berlin was so kind to examine the soft parts of the snail and to prepare the drawings before crushing the shell. According to the lack of a radula the animal belongs to the genus Stylifer Broderip.

Comments.

Sturany found a single specimen and sent it to Johannes Thiele in Berlin for the study of the soft parts ( Sturany 1903). The shell was reported to have been crushed to extract the animal, indeed no shells were found in the Vienna and the Berlin museums (C. Zorn, pers. comm.). Warén (1981) placed it in the genus Stylapex and provided further figures of the shell and of living individuals. In any case, Stilifer is the correct spelling of the genus, Stylifer being an incorrect subsequent spelling by Broderip (1832).

Figures

Figure 7. Original figure of Stylifer thielei Sturany, 1903.