Merelina waitangiensis
| Merelina waitangiensis | |
|---|---|
| Holotype from the Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Rissooidea |
| Family: | Lironobidae |
| Genus: | Merelina |
| Species: | M. waitangiensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Merelina waitangiensis A. W. B. Powell, 1933
| |
Merelina waitangiensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Lironobidae.[1] It is endemic to the waters surrounding the Chatham Islands of New Zealand.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
Shell nearest to superba Powell 1927, but differing from that species in having more numerous spiral ridges and fewer axials, which causes the enclosed rectangular interspaces to be more than twice as long as high. Penultimate whorl with thirteen axials. Spire whorls with four to five spirals, body-whorl with nine. In superba there are from three to five spiral ridges on spire whorls and eight on the body-whorl. Post-nuclear whorls 5, protoconch damaged. Spire tall, more than three times height of aperture. Colour uniformly buff.[2]
The shells of the species measure 4.4 mm (0.17 in) in height and 1.7 mm (0.067 in) in diameter.[3] It is the largest known species of Merelina found in New Zealand, identifiable by its 4-5 spirals on spire whorls, by having wider than high clathrate interspaces, and due to its uniformly buff colour.[4]
Taxonomy
The species was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1933.[2] The holotype was collected by Powell himself in February 1933, from shell sand at Waitangi in the Chatham Islands, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.[5][6]
Distribution and habitat
M. waitangiensis is endemic to New Zealand,[7] found in the waters of the Chatham Islands.[3][8] As of 2026, only two specimens have been recorded,[9] the holotype and a specimen collected by dredging off the coast of Waitangi in 1995, at a depth of 40 m (130 ft).[10]
References
- ^ Merelina waitangiensis A. W. B. Powell, 1933. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 24 February 2026.
- ^ a b Powell, A. W. B. (1933). "The Marine Mollusca of the Chatham Islands". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 1: 181–208. ISSN 0067-0464. JSTOR 42905950. Wikidata Q58676558. This article incorporates text from this source, which is under a CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ a b "Merelina waitangiensis Powell, 1933". New Zealand Mollusca. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ Powell, A.W.B. (1979). New Zealand Mollusca: Marine, Land and Freshwater Shells. Auckland: Collins. p. 109. ISBN 0002169061.
- ^ Blom, Wilma M. (2025). "Annotated Catalogue of Fossil and Extant Molluscan Types in the Auckland War Memorial Museum". Bulletin of the Auckland Museum. 22. doi:10.32912/BULLETIN/22. ISSN 1176-3213. OCLC 1550165130. Wikidata Q135397912.
- ^ "Merelina waitangiensis". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ Spencer, H. G.; Marshall, B. A.; Willan, R. C. (June 2009). "Checklist of New Zealand living Mollusca". New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume 1. Kingdom Animalia Radiata, Lopotrochozoa, Deuteromstomia. 1: 196–219. Wikidata Q125720861.
- ^ Dell, R. K.; Edmonds, S. J. (1961). "Biological results of the Chatham Islands 1954 Expedition. Part 4. Marine Mollusca; Sipunculoidea" (PDF). New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir. 7: 1–27. ISSN 0083-7903. Wikidata Q66412133.
- ^ "Merelina waitangiensis Powell, 1933". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ "Merelina waitangiensis". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 24 February 2026.