Triphora sp. (insularum Biggs, ms)

Albano, Paolo G., Bakker, Piet A. J. & Sabelli, Bruno, 2019, Annotated catalogue of the types of Triphoridae (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom, London, Zoosystematics and Evolution 95 (1), pp. 161-308 : 161

Triphora sp. (insularum Biggs, ms)

Figure 14

Triphora sp. Biggs 1973: 362-363, pl. 4, figs 4, 5.

Original locality.

NE of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Material examined.

NHMUK 1968760-3: 4 specimens (from original locality) .

Remarks.

Biggs (1973) described and illustrated this species in his work on the Trucial Coast (Persian (Arabian) Gulf) but refrained from naming it because it lacked the apex. We agree that the presence of a complete apex is fundamental for the institution of any triphorid new species due to the important characters it bears as acknowledged by several authors (e.g. Barnard 1963; Marshall 1983; Bouchet and Strong 2010). We thus refrain from redescribing it because we have not been able to locate new suitable material. From the remnants of apexes on the examined material, the species likely bears a multispiral protoconch.

In the NHMUK collection, the specimens studied by Biggs have been located with the manuscript name Triphora insularum . They are labelled as “holotype” and “paratypes” although, pending a formal introduction of the name, these specimens are not name-bearing types. The label bears the locality "Trucial Oman Coast" and 1962 as collecting year. At the time, the United Arab Emirates had not been founded yet and the coastal emirates were known as Trucial States, a British Protectorate since 1819.

Figures

Figure 14. Triphora sp. (Triphora insularum Biggs ms). A-E " Holotype ", NHMUK 198760, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: front (A, B), side (C, D), back (E). F-H " Paratypes ", NHMUK 198761 - 3: front views of Paratype A (F), B (G) and C (H). I Original labels of the " holotype ". J-L Original labels of " paratypes " A (J), B (K) and C (L). Scale bars: A-E, F-H: 1 mm.