Petalopoma elisabettae
Schiapparelli, 2002
Italy, Sicily…
Predator on sponges in the infralittoral and the circalittoral.
20-30m deep, on detritic bottom, in a cave of Capo Palinuro, Salerno, Campania, SW. Italy. 5mm.
Differs from Tenagodus obtusus in the appearance of the slit: thin and regular in obtusus, large and irregular in elisabettae.
Same spot. 5mm.
Above and below:
33m deep, in shell grit, Secche di Tor Paterno, off Torvajanica, Roma, Lazio, SW. Italy. 4-9mm.
Shell « loosely coiled, following an irregular logarithmic spiral; protoconch disjunct from the other whorls; system of radial cracks well-developed; surface smooth (except for the cracks), beige […] Slit very irregular in shape and width, alternating portions with a constant width of about 120µm with broader regions forming a sinus of 600µm. » – S. Schiaparelli: “Taxonomy of the family Siliquariidae (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda) in Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea: description of a new genus and a new species”, Italian Journal of Zoology vol. 69, 2002, p.250.

A highly variable species. 5-7,5mm.
« This species is dedicated to my mother Elisabetta. »
Specimens from La Ciotat, Provence, S. France. 4,25-7,7mm.
25m deep, under a rocky wall between Sapri and Acquafredda, Campanian border, SW. Italy. 6mm.
In this species, the outer margin of the slit is always notched, in a way that seems random (but probably should not be).
40m deep, Cavtat area, S. Croatia. 5,7mm.
36m deep, San Giovanni Li Cuti, Catania, E. Sicily. 7mm.
Same spot. 4mm.
The shell lives vertically inside sponges. 80m deep, southern Évvia island. Original picture provided by G. Bazios (GR).
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