Interchangeable taxa
Author: Jan Delsing
Text ID: 103894
Text Type: 19
Page: 0
Created: 2020-12-08 19:44:30 - User Delsing Jan
Language: EN
Text function: [[t:1521912,textblock=103894,elang=EN;Interchangeable taxa]]
Fernandes & Rolan (1988) have introduced the new species Metaxia incerta, from the Cape Verde Islands. Though they have collected about forty living specimens, the authors have examined the colour of the animals only: milky-white for both M. metaxae and M. incerta. So, the differences between these two species are the characters of the shells. First of all, the colour of the teleoconch is dark brown for M. incerta and lighter red-brown for M. metaxae (living specimens). Although both species have exactly the same peculiarly sculptured protoconch, there are two differences: M, metaxae has a protoconch (without nucleus) of 3 to 3.5 whorls and M. incertae of about 4 whorls (this is not confirmed by the photographs of Fernandes & Rolan; on plate III figs. 13-14, both species have 4 whorls, the nucleus included). Furthermore, the diameter of the first protoconch whorl of M. metaxae is on average (after six shells) 0.176 mm and of M. incerta (after five shells) 0.142 mm.
Linden, J van der - 1998 - The Metaxiinae dredged by the CANCAP expeditions, with the new species Metaxia carinapex and Metaxia hapax from the Cape Verde Islands (Gastropoda, Heteropoda Triphoridae)