Pseudopomatias harli Pall-Gergely, n. sp.

Pseudopomatias harli Páll-Gergely, n. sp.

Fig. 9 I

Pomatias Himalayanae (sic!) (partim)— Godwin-Austen 1876: p. 181. Pseudopomatias himalayae (partim)— Gude 1921: p. 159.

Diagnosis. A small, turriform, "solid" species with weak sculpture on the neck region.

Description. Shell small, greyish-yellowish to light brown, turriform; the 6.25–6.75 (n=5) rather bulging whorls are separated by deep suture; protoconch consists of two whorls, the first 0.75–1 whorl is very finely granulated, than it becomes very finely, regularly ribbed; teleoconch regularly, very finely ribbed; ribs gradually weaken on the last whorl; very weak ribs are visible on the neck region of most shells, whereas in the minority of shells the last quarter of whorl is smooth; whole shell with very fine spiral lines; aperture rounded with slightly angled columellar-parietal transition and sharply angled parietal-palatal transition; apertural rim slightly thickened and not, or very slightly reflexed; parietal callus weak; the boundary between the two circles of the rim is usually hardly visible.

Measurements (in mm). H: 4.6–7.1, D: 2.6–3.5 (n=5).

Differential diagnosis. P. harli n. sp. differs from P. h i m al ay a e by the blunter ribs and the smoother area (approximately a quarter of whorl) behind the aperture. In most cases P. himalayae has a thicker apertural rim and stronger callus, more slender shell and deeper suture. P. pleurophorus is larger and has a more corpulent shell, and its shell is almost smooth behind the apertural margin, whereas that area is usually ribbed in P. ha r l i n. sp. See also under P. abletti n. sp., P. reischuetzi n. sp., P. s i y o m e ns i s and P. prestoni n. sp. and Table 5.

Material. Damsang Peak, W Bhutan, Godwin-Austen coll, NHMUK 20130421.1 (holotype), NHMUK 20130421.2–229 (228 adult shells = paratypes), NHMUK 20130421.230–435 (206 juvenile /broken shells= not paratypes) (mixed sample with P. prestoni n. sp.); Richila Peak, Sikhim, NHMUK 1903.7.1.3468/9 paratypes; Sikkim, Himalayas, NHMUK 1888.12.4.338–340/3 paratypes (mixed sample with P. himalayae); Darjiling, Godwin-Austen coll, NHMUK 1903.7.1.3955.4 (1 paratype; mixed sample with P. himalayae); Rissom Peak, Darjeeling, Bhutan, leg. W. Robert, 1882, Godwin-Austen coll, NHMUK 20130411.3 (one paratype; mixed sample with P. himalayae); Himalayas, E. R. Sykes coll, Acc. no. 1825, NHMUK 20130413.2 (one paratype; mixed sample with P. cf. himalayae and P. prestoni n. sp.); Singtam-Sikhim, NHMUK 1906.1.1.1004.5–11 (7 paratypes), NHMUK 1906.1.1.1004.12–19 (8 not paratypes =juveniles; mixed sample with P. himalayae); Cherra Poonjee & Kangbun, Godwin-Austen Collection, NHMUK 1903.7.1.3365.1 (1 adult = paratype), NHMUK 1903.7.1.3365.2–3 (2 juveniles =not paratypes) (mixed sample with P. pleurophorus); Damsang, Godwin-Austen coll, NHMUK 20130417/1 paratype; Rissom, Godwin-Austen coll, NHMUK 20130418.1–3 (3 adults = paratypes), NHMUK 20130418.4–6 (3 juveniles = not paratypes); Rissom Peak, Sikkim, Godwin-Austen coll, NHMUK 20130419.1–4 (4 paratypes), NHMUK 20130419.5–11 (7 juveniles =not paratypes); Damsang Peak, Godwin- Austen coll, NHMUK 20130420/1 paratype; Barowli Gorge, Aka Hills, NHMUK 1903.7.1.1587/10 paratypes; Valley east of Cherra Poonjee, NHMUK 1903.7.1.1588/1 (with regular ribs on the neck region, not paratype); Toruputu Peak, 7000, Dafla, NHMUK 1903.7.1.3746/1–3 (3 paratypes), NHMUK 1903.7.1.3746/4–8 (5 shells, with few strong ribs on the neck, labelled as cf. harli, not paratypes); Rissom Peak, Sikkim, NHMUK 1903.7.1.3469/1 paratype (mixed sample with P. prestoni n. sp.); Damsang Peak, Sikkim, W Bhutan, leg. Godwin- Austen, NHMUK 20130423/1 paratype (mixed sample with P. prestoni n. sp.).

Type locality. Damsang Peak, W Bhutan.

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to and named after Josef Harl, Austrian biologist and malacologist, the friend of the first author.

Distribution. Most samples were collected in Sikkim (Rissom Peak, Richila Peak, Damsang Peak), whereas some others were labelled as being collected in Dafla Hills (southern Arunachal Pradesh), Cherrapunji and Kangbun (Meghalaya state) (see also Fig. 2 and Table 3).

Remarks. In museum collections Pseudopomatias harli n. sp. was frequently in mixed lots with P. himalayae and P. prestoni n. sp. In one sample, P. h ar l i n. sp. was mixed with P. pleurophorus.