Left to right: Lirapex granularis, Peltospira spp., Unknown peltospirid 240µm (top) and Echinopelta fistulosa (bottom)
Left to right: Lirapex granularis, Peltospira spp., Unknown peltospirid 240µm (top) and Echinopelta fistulosa (bottom)
| Size under dissecting microscope: 210-240µm (except for Rhynchopelta and Ctenopelta) Size under compound microscope: 210-240µm |
| Morphology: Peltospirid protoconchs are a difficult group to work with. Although they have distinctive lineate sculpture, many of them are similar in size and in having transparent, glassy-looking shells and perfectly circular apertures. In addition, they tend to lose their protoconchs while still young juveniles and so it is difficult to say definitively that a particular protoconch belongs to a particular species because the protoconchs of similar species may be unknown. With the exception of Lirapex, which possesses distinctive sculpture, and Rhynchopelta and Ctenopelta, which are much larger, there is little to distinguish these protoconchs. Therefore, we have divided them into two groups: “Peltospira”, which are around 220μm and have smoothly rounded, streamlined shells, and “unknown peltospirid 240μm”, which are slightly larger. These groups almost certainly contain more than one species and probably multiple genera. |
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