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EULIMIDAE |
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Hemiliostraca sobrina (Laseron, 1955) Description: Shell medium sized, long and slender, spire usually straight, occasionally slightly bent. Whorls weakly convex, suture well defined. Scars from position of outer lip weak, 2 per whorl, approximately aligned from whorl to whorl. Aperture long and narrow, one-quarter of shell length; outer lip sinuous in profile, with very shallow sinus at top. Shell colourless or yellowish transparent, sometimes with a coarse network of brown lines on last and penultimate whorls. Size: Up to 6 mm in length. Distribution: Known only from NSW: Port Stephens to Sydney. Habitat: Host unknown. Laseron (1955) said "Shell sand, Port Stephens, common. Also common on the Manly Ocean beach and other beaches on the coast; and from dredgings from a sandy bottom within Port Jackson" but there are not many specimens in the Australian Museum collection. Comparison: This species approaches the shape of Eulima acutissima but is not as slender, and less than half the size. Synonymy: Eulimitra waltersi Laseron, 1955 is a synonym (NEW SYNONYM). The holotype is a small specimen but typical of the species in shape, and shows the characteristic network of brown lines (Fig. 2). Remarks: Specimens show a network of coarse but faint brown lines on the last whorl, and sometimes the second-last whorl as well, as is just visible in Fig. 1. When describing this species, Laseron (1955) said it could be identified by its pale honey colour, but that is not apparent in any of the specimens in the Museum collection; presumably they have faded. Fig. 1: Port Stephens, NSW (C.103026 SYNTYPE) Fig. 2: Woollahra Point, Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour (HOLOTYPE of Eulimitra waltersi Laseron, 1955) |
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