A relict new species of Circulus (Truncatelloidea: Vitrinellidae) from a circalittoral bottom off Alboran Island

A new species of the genus Circulus Jeffreys, 1865 collected alive from a deep circalittoral bottom of biogenic gravel off Alboran Island, is described. The new species is compared with similar species previously known from the west coast of Africa, Caribbean and neighboring areas and the Mediterranean Sea and with the fossil species Circulus miotaurinensis. The role of the Alboran Sea as refuge for relict faunal elements is highlighted.