Melanella anapetes Souza & Pimenta & Barros 2021, sp. nov.

Melanella anapetes sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 8AC38413-2C40-42F0-847F-A816B71BD34B

(Figure 16 A–G)

Type material. Holotype MNRJ 35269 † (Figure 16 A–G). Paratype: Brazil: Off Bahia state, REVIZEE Nordeste (11°35′30″S 37°12′18″W, 510 m), 30/x/2000: MNRJ 35281 † [1 dd].

Type locality. Brazil: Off Alagoas, REVIZEE Nordeste (10°06′35″S 35°46′41″W, 720 m), coll. RV Natureza, 16/xii/2001.

Etymology. From anapetes Gr., which means wide open, expanded; relative to the elongated aperture of the species.

Description (Holotype). Shell conical, elongated, apex obtuse, reaching 8 whorls, 4.4 mm long, 1.2 mm wide. Larval shell conical, smooth, transition to teleoconch indistinct. Teleoconch whorls convex; suture well demarcated, sloping; surface smooth; incremental scars slightly demarcated, appearing in irregular intervals. Last whorl almost 60% of the shell length; base rounded, elongated. Aperture high and narrow, pear shaped, acute posteriorly and rounded anteriorly; outer lip thin, prosocline, sinuous, projecting gradually from the suture and reaching the maximum projection in the middle of the height; inner lip sinuous, slightly twisted, sloping and well demarcated. Not umbilicate. Shell vitreous.

Measurements. Holotype MNRJ 35269†, 8 whorls, SL= 4.4 mm; BWL= 2.5 mm; AL= 1.6 mm; SW= 1.2 mm; AW= 0.8 mm.

Remarks. The slightly twisted columella resembles species of Haliella Monterosato, 1878, but the latter genus usually comprises species with cylindrical shell and a blunt apex (Bouchet & Warén 1986: 338). We prefer to include this species in Melanella because of its conical shape (Figure 16A, B), including that of the protoconch (Figure 16D).

Melanella anapetes sp. nov. has a broad aperture (Figure 16E) like M. hians (Figure 9J), but it is less expanded laterally and the former species is much smaller (holotype: 8 whorls, SL= 4.4 mm, SW= 1.2 mm v s. syntype of M. hians NHMUK 1887.2.9.1588: 10 whorls, SL= 10.1 mm, SW 3.3 mm).

Melanella anapetes sp. nov. resembles M. adiastalta sp. nov. (Figure 15 A–G) in the outline of the outer lip, but has a more elongated shell shape (ratio SW/SL= 0.28 vs. 0.37 in M. adiastalta sp. nov.) and aperture (ratio AW/AL= 0.5 vs. 0.6).

Melanella anapetes sp. nov. differs from M. doederleini (Figure 11 A–I) and M. sarissa (Figure 12 A–L) by the more elongated aperture (ratio AW/AL= 0.5, 0.7 and 0.6, respectively).

Geographical distribution. Brazil: Alagoas and Bahia.

Bathymetric distribution. From 510 to 720 m.