Odetta zekiergeni a new species of Pyramidellidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

During the past decades intensive investigations on the zoobenthic fauna of Izmir Bay have been carried out (Çınar et al., 2012). This area has suffered from intense pollution due to the influx of untreated wastes of different origin. Until the year 2000, the inner part of Izmir Bay, where the Alsancak harbour is located, has been considered as one of the most polluted areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Recent studies performed in the area (Çınar et al., 2006; Ergen et al., 2006) showed that a number of species of alien or native origin have gradually re-colonized the area after the establishment of a wastewater treatment station within “The Grand Canal Project” on February 2000. Since then Çınar et al. (2012) have reported 417 species from the area including 13 alien taxa in a study of the zoobenthic organisms inhabiting the soft substrate in Izmir Bay. Pyramidellids are ectoparasitic gastropods within the Heterobranchia which are characterized by their heterostrophic protoconchs. According to Bouchet & Rocroi (2005), the family is subdivided into four subfamilies (Odostomiinae, Pyramidellinae, Turbonillinae and Syrnolinae), and in the world ocean, this family comprises more than 5000 named species, belonging to 350 genera and subgenera (Schander et al., 1999a). The family Pyramidellidae is also well represented in the Mediterranean, including about 150 species belonging to more than 20 genera (Coll et al., 2010), and this number is increasing continuously with the description of new species as well as reports of the establishment of non native species in the Mediterranean. The present study describes several pyramidellid specimens collected from Izmir Bay as a new species which is tentatively assigned to the genus Odetta.