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Quaternary and Recent land snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from ...

Quaternary and Recent land snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from ...

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134<br />

whorls <strong>and</strong> separated <strong>from</strong> the teleoconch by a lip. Irregular<br />

growth lines begin with the teleoconch. Suture distinctly<br />

impressed, not descending towards the aperture. Whorls strongly<br />

tumid above, less so below, with rounded cross-section. Aperture<br />

round, unmodified, lips thin <strong>and</strong> very slightly reflected only adjacent<br />

to the umbilicus, basal lip sinuous viewed <strong>from</strong> below, parietal<br />

callus thin, but distinct. In profile the outer lip is sinuous <strong>and</strong><br />

the aperture plane lies at about 15° to the axis, but is not tangential<br />

to the penultimate whorl. Umbilicus moderate, exp<strong>and</strong>ing regularly,<br />

about a sixth to a fifth the shell diameter.<br />

Occurrence: Unknown in the cave deposit. Rare fresh shells<br />

found within a few hundred metres of the cave. Widespread<br />

throughout much of Jamaica.<br />

Genus Strialuna Pilsbry, 1926<br />

Strialuna sincera (C. B. Adams, 1845)<br />

Description: Shell like a strongly ribbed version of Microsagda<br />

inconspicua. The shell is small (up to 3 mm diameter), discoidal<br />

with a low spire, of just over four whorls, ornamented with strong<br />

radial ribs, an unmodified aperture <strong>and</strong> a moderate umbilicus.<br />

Protoconch smooth, distinctly oval in outline, of about one <strong>and</strong> an<br />

eighth whorls, separated <strong>from</strong> the teleoconch by a weak groove.<br />

Teleoconch smooth for another eighth of a whorl, then characteristic<br />

radial ribbing starts (at one <strong>and</strong> a quarter whorls) <strong>and</strong> strengthens<br />

with growth; last whorl a little lower on the spire than preceding<br />

whorls. Ribs are solid, raised, colabral ridges half the width of<br />

intervening grooves, <strong>and</strong> equally developed above <strong>and</strong> below. No<br />

trace of other ornament can be seen in the grooves. Suture is distinctly<br />

impressed <strong>and</strong> does not descend towards the aperture.<br />

Whorls tumid above, almost perfectly circular in cross-section.<br />

Aperture flatter above, rounded, unmodified, with sharp lips, parietal<br />

callus very thin. In profile the outer lip is planar, the aperture<br />

plane lies at about 10° to the axis <strong>and</strong> is not tangential to the penultimate<br />

whorl. Umbilicus moderate, exp<strong>and</strong>ing fairly regularly,<br />

about a fifth to a quarter of the shell diameter. Dirt often clings to<br />

the thin, yellowish periostracum.<br />

Occurrence: Unknown in the cave deposits. <strong>Recent</strong> shells found<br />

within a few hundred metres of the cave. Widespread in Jamaica.<br />

Genus Zaphysema Pilsbry, 1894<br />

Zaphysema tenerrimum (C. B. Adams, 1845)<br />

(Pl. 8, figs. 1–6)<br />

Description: Shell moderate sized (21 mm diameter by 17 mm<br />

high), thin, globular, imperforate, with five convex whorls <strong>and</strong> an<br />

unmodified aperture with thin margins. Protoconch smooth, but not<br />

distinguishable <strong>from</strong> the teleoconch; growth lines simply increase<br />

in strength. Later whorls have very weak spiral ornament. Suture<br />

distinctly impressed, just turning down before the aperture, but<br />

only in the largest examples. Whorls distinctly tumid, almost perfectly<br />

circular in cross section. Aperture obliquely ovate, some-<br />

C. R. C. Paul <strong>and</strong> S. K. Donovan<br />

times very slightly flattened near suture, but otherwise smoothly<br />

rounded; margins neither thickened nor reflected, parietal callus<br />

very thin. In profile the outer lip is planar. The aperture plane is<br />

not tangential to the penultimate whorl, but set at about 32° to the<br />

axis.<br />

Occurrence: An abundant shell in the cave deposits despite its<br />

thin <strong>and</strong> fragile nature. Fresh shells with the uniform pale brown<br />

periostracum still attached can be found in the vicinity of the cave<br />

<strong>and</strong> the species almost certainly still lives in the area. <strong>Recent</strong> shells<br />

are smaller <strong>and</strong> even more delicate than the fossils, <strong>and</strong> reach 17<br />

mm diameter by 15 mm high, <strong>and</strong> the plane of the aperture is at a<br />

higher angle (about 36°) to the shell axis.<br />

Family Systrophiidae<br />

Genus Happiella H. B. Baker, 1925<br />

Happiella brevis (C. B. Adams, 1849c)<br />

(Pl. 35, figs. 2, 4)<br />

Description: Shell minute (up to 2.5 mm diameter), discoidal,<br />

but with slightly raised spire, with three <strong>and</strong> three quarters smooth,<br />

rounded whorls, an unmodified aperture <strong>and</strong> a wide umbilicus.<br />

Protoconch smooth, of one <strong>and</strong> a quarter whorls, distinctly oval<br />

<strong>and</strong> separated <strong>from</strong> the teleoconch by an impressed line. Fine irregular<br />

growth lines start with the teleoconch <strong>and</strong> strengthen with<br />

growth. Last whorl a little lower on the spire than preceding.<br />

Suture deep, not descending towards the aperture. Whorls rounded<br />

above, very slightly flattened above the periphery, especially on<br />

the last whorl, then regularly rounded, hence not quite circular in<br />

cross-section. Aperture rounded, unmodified, with sharp lips <strong>and</strong><br />

obvious parietal callus. In profile the outer lip is slightly sinuous,<br />

the aperture plane at about 18˚ to the axis <strong>and</strong> not tangential to the<br />

penultimate whorl. Umbilicus very wide, more than a third shell<br />

diameter, exp<strong>and</strong>ing regularly.<br />

Occurrence: Abundant in the cave deposits, but unknown living<br />

in the vicinity of the cave.<br />

Family Camaenidae<br />

Genus Eurycratera Beck, 1837<br />

Eurycratera jamaicanesis (Gmelin in Linné, 1791)<br />

(Pl. 9, figs. 1–6)<br />

Description: Shell large (up to 45 mm diameter), globular,<br />

imperforate, with three convex whorls, rounded almost tangential<br />

aperture <strong>and</strong> simple thickened lip. The protoconch is smooth <strong>and</strong><br />

of one whorl, but not always distinct <strong>from</strong> the teleoconch, which<br />

develops weak growth lines after about one <strong>and</strong> a quarter whorls<br />

accompanied by the characteristic oblique, spiral striations after<br />

just over one <strong>and</strong> a half whorls. The spiral striations are very distinctive.<br />

They are perpendicular to less prominent growth lines <strong>and</strong><br />

thus oblique to the sutures. They descend <strong>from</strong> the upper suture to<br />

the lower as growth proceeds. On some shells two ridges <strong>and</strong><br />

grooves, the upper ridge wider, run parallel <strong>and</strong> immediately adja-

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