Neptunea 13(3)

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NP13-3-cover_1

About the surprising presence of Donax longissimus Thiele & Jaeckel, 1931 (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Donacidae) in Western Sahara: a comparison with similar E Atlantic and South African species, pp. 1-26, pls I-XVI, by Frank Nolf.

Specimens of an unknown Donax have recently been collected off La Sarga, Dakhla, Western Sahara, Morocco, a poorly explored area. Similar specimens were already known from South Africa. Thorough investigation has revealed that these shells belong to Donax longissimus Thiele & Jaeckel, 1931, a species often confused with Donax burnupi G.B. Sowerby III, 1894 also present in South Africa and Mozambique. In this paper Donax longissimus is compared with other similar species from the E Atlantic waters and D. prolongatus (Turton, 1932) is regarded as a junior synonyms.

Keywords: Bivalvia, DONACIDAE, Donax longissimus, Donax burnupi, Donax prolongatus, Western Sahara, South Africa.

Contributions to the knowledge of the Eratoidae. X. New species in the genus Proterato F.A. Schilder, 1925, pp. 27-31, pls I-II, by Dirk Fehse.

Recently discovered species from the Philippines and belonging to the genus Proterato F.A. Schilder, 1925 are described. The new species are briefly discussed and compared with similar species.

Keywords: Mollusca, Gastropoda, ERATOIDAE, Recent, new species, Philippines.

A dark-marginated form of Zonaria pyrum (Gmelin, 1791) (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) from Lebanon: further evidence of a wrongly assumed subspecies, pp. 32-36, pls I-III, by Frank Nolf.

A specimen of a dark marginated Zonaria pyrum has been collected from the coast of Lebanon. Until now it has always been supposed that such a form was restricted to the south of the Iberian Peninsula. It was therefore regarded as a subspecies (Deprez & Govaert, 2009). The presence of a similar pattern from the eastern Mediterranean Sea excludes this supposition and downranks the subspecies Z. pyrum nigromarginata Deprez & Govaert, 2009 to the status of a mere form.

Keywords: Zonaria pyrum, CYPRAEIDAE, subspecies.