TITLE:
Pickworthiidae and Aqabarellidae New Family (Caenogastropoda, Mollusca) of Aqaba, Jordan: Their Larval Shells and Remarks about Their Evolution and Relation
AUTHORS:
Ikhlas Alhejoj, Klaus Bandel, Tariq Al-Najjar
KEYWORDS:
Mollusca, Caenogastropoda, Pickworthiidae, Aqabarellidae, Aqaba, Tethys, Triassic
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Science,
Vol.8 No.9,
September
29,
2016
ABSTRACT: Among small sized gastropods found in Aqaba (Jordan),Sansoniaoccurs relatively common withSansoniacebuanawhichisrecognized from the the fringing reef near the Marine Biological Station at Aqaba, whileMecoliotiaandChrystellaare rare.Mecoliotiaaqabaensisn. sp andChrystellashinaqin. sp are described with the later resemblingChrystellafinckhi. They are compared with other members of the Pick-worthiidae, of which a new species ofDiscrevinafrom Indonesia is described. A species ofAqabarellanew genus resembles in shape of its teleoconch members of the Pickworthiidae but its protoconch is distinct in ornament of the larval shell and shape of the aperture and it is placed in it own family, Aqabarellidae.Aqabarella urdunensisis relatively more common than the rareAqabarellapulchella. Similar larval shells are found in Vanikoridae, Planaxidae and Cerithiidae, those of Littorinidaeand Rissoidae are more distinct and all of them differ from those of the Aqabarellidae,while some ancient small species from the Triassic tropical Tethys had a similar protoconch.