Moussonia barkeri, 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 : 26-27

Taxon classification Animalia Mesogastropoda Diplommatinidae

Moussonia barkeri sp. n. Figs 55-56

Type material.

Holotype MNHN IM-2000-27437, paratypes MNHN/46 IM-2000-27438, NMBE 516859/10. - Type locality: Viti Levu, surroundings of Qauia village, secondary wet forest, 20-50 m, -18.1001 178.3999, leg. Bouchet & Warén, 15.03.1999.

Etymology.

This species is named after Gary Barker, formerly of Landcare Research, Hamilton, New Zealand, in recognition for his efforts to get the land snails of Fiji onto the local conservation agenda.

Diagnosis.

Shell minute, dextral, light brown, inner parietalis long, outer parietalis spatulate, palatalis long, directly above the aperture, undulating.

Description.

Shell minute, dextral, biconical, last whorl slightly constricted, light brown to yellowish; protoconch consisting of 2 whorls, smooth; teleoconch of> 4 well rounded whorls, sculpture consisting of fine and widely spaced riblets; last whorl only slightly ascending before aperture; aperture attached to last whorl, subquadrate, relatively large, peristomial rim reinforced by a thick white labial callus, columellar side with a strong columellaris; internal lamellar system with one columellaris, two parietal lamellae and one palatalis; columellaris a thin lamella, with a strong undulation at its end above the aperture; inner parietalis a thin lamella, not connected to the second spatulate parietalis; very long palatalis directly above the aperture (can be seen from the outside as a long fine thread), with a central undulation.

Operculum unknown.

Measurements.

Holotype (Fig. 55): H = 1.3; D = 0.66; PH = 0.53; PD = 0.51; W = 5.5.

Distribution

(Fig. 170). Only known from the type locality.

Remarks.

Moussonia barkeri sp. n. is unique in its combination of a minute shell with an aperture the size of that of larger species. It differs from the similar sized Moussonia minutissima sp. n. by its more obese shell, its long undulating palatalis, and the larger outer parietalis.