Bostrycapulus heteropoma n. sp. and Bostrycapulus tegulicius (Gastropoda: Calyptraeidae) from Western Africa

Spiny slipper shells in the genus Bostrycapulus range worldwide in tropical and temperate oceans. Owing to the scarcity of samples that retain the defining characteristics of the genus, the species from tropical Africa and the Indo-Pacific are poorly known. Here we present data showing that samples of Bostrycapulus from the Cape Verde Islands and Senegal are distinct from each other and distinct from other known Bostrycapulus species. These two species can be distinguished from each other by the unique caplike protoconch found on the shells from Senegal and the coiled globose protoconchs typical of direct-developing species on the shells from the Cape Verde Islands. Genetically, samples from Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands are distinct. DNA sequences from Senegal are very similar to those of Bostrycapulus odites, which occurs in the South Atlantic (South Africa, Argentina, and Brazil) while those from Cape Verde are closest to Bostrycapulus aculeatus from Florida. The name Bostrycapulus tegulicius is available, and the single existing protoconch on the types in the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, appears to match those from the Cape Verde Islands. Subtle variation in protoconch size and shape throughout the Cape Verde Islands suggests that there may be more than a single species in the archipelago. Unfortunately, too little material is available to rule out intraspecific variation or to support the description of additional new species from the Cape Verde Islands. Here, we augment the original description of B. tegulicius and describe the unique new species Bostrycapulus heteropoma n. sp. from Senegal.