Fig. 2 i–k
Yoldia obtusa Sars M. in Sars G.O., 1872 (p. 23, pl. 3, figs. 16–20).
Malletia obtusa M. Sars—Jeffreys 1879 (p. 586).
Malletia obtusa (M. Sars) — Verrill & Bush 1898 (p. 874, pl. 97, fig. 4).
Malletia obtusa (M. Sars, 1868) — Nordsieck 1969 (p. 14, pl. 2, fig. 03.20).
Malletia obtusa (Sars) — Di Geronimo & Panetta 1973 (p. 95, pl. 3, fig. 3).
Malletia obtusa G.O. Sars, 1878 — Sanders & Allen 1985 (p. 232, figs. 40–41). Pseudomalletia pianii Van Aartsen & Giannuzzi-Savelli, 1991 (p. 4).
Pseudomalletia pianii Van Aartsen & Giannuzzi-Savelli, 1991 — Giannuzzi-Savelli et al. 2001 (p. 54, fig. 50). Pseudomalletia pianii (Van Aartsen & Giannuzzi-Savelli, 1991) — Repetto et al. 2005 (p. 284, mid left fig). Pseudomalletia obtusa (G.O. Sars, 1878) — La Perna 2003 (p. 28, pl. 4, fig. 3).
Diagnostic characters. Flattened, subrectangular, markedly inequilateral shell with posterior side longer and wider; anterior side obtusely pointed; shallow external sulcus from the beak to the upper third of the posterior side, faintly bilobed in some specimens; outer surface with uneven growth markings. Prodissoconch: shell type ST-1A; P-1: length about 260 µm; ellipsoidal outline; low convex profile; surface smooth; transition to the nepioconch well marked.
Remarks. Pseudomalletia pianii Van Aartsen & Giannuzzi-Savelli, 1991 is a synonym of Yoldia obtusa Sars M., 1872 (CLEMAM 2016). The very similar Malletia johnsoni Clark, 1961 differs only in having a rounded anterior margin and a somewhat shorter posterior side; it is a deep water species that occurs between 1000 and 3000 m depth (Oliver et al. 2016).
Occurrence. Box-corer samples BC71 (1 specimen), BC72 (4). Maximum length: 5.5 mm.
Distribution and habitat. Malletia obtusa ranges from the northern Atlantic—also entering Norway fjordsto North American coasts, Cape Verde and the western Mediterranean, in the 20–3200 m depth interval (Verrill & Bush 1898; Nordsieck 1969; Di Geronimo & Panetta 1973; Poppe & Goto 1993; Buhl-Mortensen & Høisaeter 1993; La Perna 2003).
Fossil record. Pleistocene of the Mediterranean (La Perna 2003).