"Cerion vanattai, new species
(Plate 11, fig. 12)
Cerion vanattai Torre, ms. (in sched.)
Description. - Shell reaching 23 mm. (about 1 inch.) in length, smooth to finely costate, rather solid and rimately perforate. Color a grayish-white to a mottled brownish-purple. Whorls 9, slightly convex the last four being nearly straight sided, the remaining earlier whorls forming a convex conic summit. Spire somewhat extended and forming an angle of about 70°. Aperture subcircular, outer lip reflected, thickened and hardly turned back. Parietal area thinly glazed and not built forward as a ridge. Columella short and straight. Parietal tooth centered, prominent, and short. Columellar tooth smaller and extending back for one whorl. Umbilicus rimately formed, short and shallow. Suture slightly indented. Sculpture consisting of fine and rather widely spaced axial costae, varying in degree from specimens that are nearly smooth to those that are finely costate throughout. Manuy specimens that are nearly smooth on the later whorls are very finely costate on the first 2 or 3 post-embryonic whorls. Nuclear whorls grayish-white, the first whorl smooth, later whorls finely costate.
Length | Width | Whorls | |
----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | |
23 | 11 | mm | 9 | Holotype |
24.0 | 12.0 | | 9 | Paratype |
22.5 | 11.5 | | 9 | " |
21.5 | 10.8 | | 9 | " |
18.1 | 10.5 | | 9 | |
Types. - Holotype, Museo Poey no. 12671; paratypes, Museum Comparative Zoölogy no. 66713; 128950 and 188592 from Playa Larga, Boca de Jauco, Baracoa, Oriente, Cuba, collected by Victor Rodríguez and C. C. Allen. This species is named for E. G. Vanatta who had been a staff member in the Department of Mollusks of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for many years.
This species appears to be nearest in relationship to C. maisianum Pilsbry from Cabo Maisi. It differs in being smaller, having fewer and more widely spaced costae and in being more convexly conic in outline." (Clench & Aguayo, 1951:78-79)