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Franck Boyer

  • Biodiversity Journal, 15 (3): 525-545

    Franck Boyer
    Revision of the wavy ornated cystiscids (Volutoidea Cystiscidae) from the Dhofar (southern Oman) and description of new taxa
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2024.15.3.525.545
    https://www.zoobank.org/311F3724-B950-4086-BC5A-2923D2964B70

    ABSTRACT
    The cystiscids species (Volutoidea Cistiscidae) from the Dhofar (southern Oman) with wavy ornated shells are revised on the ground of semi-intensive samplings, mainly operated off Mirbat (Central Dhofar) and more incidentally in other places off Central and Western Dhofar. This species complex, alternatively placed by authors in the genus Persicula Schumacher, 1817 or in the genus Gibberula Swainson, 1840, is considered to belong to a well-distinctive disbranching among the Cystiscidae, and its placement in a new genus Sagittalia n. gen. is proposed, with Marginella sagittata Hinds, 1844 as type species. Seven cystiscid species from the Dhofar are proposed in this new genus, two of them previously described as Persicula masirana Roth et Petit, 1972, and Gibberula peterbonuttii Cossignani et Lorenz, 2018, four of them being described as new: Sagittalia anapaulae n. sp. from Mirbat and the Saadah (Central Dhofar), S. willeminae n. sp. from Salalah (Western Dhofar), S. eloiseae n. sp. from Western and Central Dhofar, S. vickydobsonae Boyer et Childs n. sp. and S. peterbonuttii (Cossignani et Lorenz, 2018), both from Mirbat and the Saadah (Central Dhofar), and an undescribed species of Sagittalia sp. A only known by one specimen collected at 24–28 m depth off Mirbat are discussed. Two main phenetic clusters are recognized in this fauna: the cluster S. anapaulae/S. willeminae and the cluster S. eloiseae/S. vickydobsonae/S. peterbonuttii, whereas the relationship of S. masirana and of Sagittalia sp. remains unstated, despite their closely matching animal chromatism. Comparison is proposed with other wavy ornated species from the Arabian Region and from other regions of the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Provinces, with the analogous fossil fauna documented from the French mid-Eocene and with Recent brother-groups of zig zag ornated cystiscids with reduced number of waves.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 15 (3): 517-523

    Franck Boyer & José Rosado
    Finding of Marginella caterinae Bozzetti et G. Raybaudi, 1991 (Volutoidea Marginellidae) in Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman) and description of a sympatric sibling species
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2024.15.3.517.523
    https://www.zoobank.org/D5306506-C5E6-4206-84FB-27417AF6148F

    ABSTRACT
    Marginella caterinae     Bozzetti et G. Raybaudi, 1991 (Volutoidea Marginellidae), descrive from Somalia, is revised on the ground of specimens collected along the central coast of the Dhofar, Oman. A sibling species collected in sympatry is described as M. gabrielae n. sp. The shell variability of both species is discussed, and their animal chromatism is illustrated. The generic placement of this species group is discussed, as well as its affinities with the species group of M. cloveri Rios et Matthews, 1972 distributed off equatorial and tropical Brazil.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 14 (4): 0637-0642

    Franck Boyer & Walter Renda
    Description of two new species of Prunum Herrmannsen, 1852 (Gastropoda Marginellidae) from Callao, Peru
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2023.14.4.637.642
    https://www.zoobank.org/938E4262-A9ED-4D98-85C7-D86B2247CB0F

    ABSTRACT
    Two new Marginellidae species are described from Callao, Peru, and placed into the genus Prunum Herrmannsen, 1852, as P. sigmoides n. sp. and P. lamellosum n. sp. The reliability of the locality attributed to these new species is discussed, and the two species are considered to come with high probability from Western South America, due to their original features not matching Prunum morphs known from the rest of the Panamic Province, Caribbean or West Africa.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 14 (3): 0513-0532

    Franck Boyer
    About some marginelliform gastropods (Marginellidae Cystiscidae and Granulinidae) from French Guyana
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2023.14.3.513.532
    https://www.zoobank.org/406298CA-CAA4-459D-BD8D-BC870A56642A

    ABSTRACT
    The study of a small collection of millimetric marginelliform gastropods sampled off French Guyana allows to recognize the occurrence of three species previously described, namely Eratoidea margarita (Kiener, 1834), E. sulcata (d’Orbigny, 1842), and E. acutulla McCleery, 2011, and of 13 new species described as Hyalina oblongata n. sp., Volvarina similis n. sp., V. vitrea n. sp., V. cornea n. sp., Prunum guyanensis n. sp., Eratoidea mccleeryi n. sp., E. strangulata n. sp., E. inflata n. sp., E. angulosa n. sp., E. serratula n. sp., E. flavida n. sp., Gibberrula contracta n. sp. and Granulina ampla n. sp. The phenotypic variability and the geographic distribution are documented mainly with the help of data obtained from the O.C.P.S. collection (Leiden Museum), and more incidentally with the help of the 2011 McCleery’s revision of the Caribbean fauna of the genus Eratoidea Weinkauff, 1879.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 13 (4): 0823-0840

    Franck Boyer & Walter Renda
    About a collection of Anarithma species (Conoidea Mitromorphidae) from La Réunion, Mascarene Islands
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2022.13.4.823.840
    https://www.zoobank.org/References/8131ad97-a444-4799-aa1d-d593c38f9e61

    ABSTRACT
    Twelve mitromorphid species from La Réunion are tentatively attributed to the genus Anarithma Iredale, 1916, and revised on the ground of the Maurice Jay’s collection conserved in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, and of additional data given by the website “vieoceane” devoted to the marine gastropods fauna from La Réunion. Nine previously described species are formally revised in the genus Anarithma: A. pamila (Duclos, 1848), A. lachryma (Reeve, 1845), A. maesi Drivas et Jay, 1986, A. metula (Hinds, 1843), A. melvilli Boyer, 2022, A. inornata (Hervier, 1900), A. fischeri (Hervier, 1900), A. cf. salisburyi (Cernohorsky, 1978), and A. kilburni Drivas et Jay, 1986. Two new species are described in the same genus: A. aurea n. sp. as sibling species of A. metula, and A. borbonica n. sp. as sibling species of A. pamila. The morph illustrated as Mitromorpha poppei Chino et Stahlschmidt in the website “vieoceane” is evidenced to belong to an undescribed species, and its allocation to Anarithma is made with reserve. Cases of possible hybridism and of possible uncomplete speciations are discussed.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 13 (2): 0443-0478 - MONOGRAPH

    Franck Boyer & Walter Renda
    Revision of Gibberula philippii (Monterosato, 1878) in a populational approach (Gastropoda Cystiscidae)
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2022.13.2.443.478

    ABSTRACT
    The species Gibberula philippii (Monterosato, 1878) (Gastropoda Cystiscidae) is revised and one lectotype and six paralectotypes are appointed from a lot of Palermo belonging to the Monterosato Collection in the Civic Museum of Roma. Palermo is defined as the type locality of the species. The phenetic variability of G. philippii (shell morphology and animal chromatism) is displayed and commented through numerous specimens from various localities of the Mediterranean Sea and a sample from the Ibero-Moroccan Gulf (Casablanca). Gibberula cristinae with this populational approach is synonymous with G. philippii. In the present state, no sibling species is detected within the Mediterranean G. philippii group of forms and G. philippii is considered as a polymorphic species. The alleged complex of sibling species of G. philippii described recently from the Canarian Archipelago is discussed as a comparative case. The populational approach and the extensive study of the phenetic variability is argued to offer high benefits by itself in malacology studies and to contribute highly to the efficiency of integrative taxonomy.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 13 (1): 0079-0106

    Franck Boyer
    About the mitromorphid species group Anarithma lachryma (Reeve, 1845) (Conoidea Mitromorpha) at reef levels of Balicasag Island (Central Philippines)
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2022.13.1.79.106
    https://www.zoobank.org/References/5f2b2a57-4c85-48eb-a656-08f76b93d326

    ABSTRACT
    Mitra lachryma (Reeve, 1845) (Conoidea Mitromorpha) is restored as type species of the genus Anarithma Iredale, 1916, and a series of eleven species ranging in Balicasag (Central Philippines) is proposed to belong to a restricted A. lachryma species group, composed of both planktotrophic and lecithotrophic species, all kind of intergrading situations being reported. Two new species are described in this species group, as A. bulbosa n. sp. and A. melvilli n. sp. The protoconch morphologies examined in the Anarithma complex are considered to reflect high plasticity and to support the hypothesis of a continuum in larval strategies, which contradicts binary taxonomies based on planktotrophic versus lecithotrophic protoconchs. The chromatic features of the teleoconch are considered to be more heritable and playing as better clue of the phyletic distances occurring in this group. Both competitors groups within the Anarithma complex and specific transitions to other mitromorphid genera are discussed.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 12 (1): 0235-0244

    Franck Boyer & Walter Renda
    Revision of Gibberula lucia Jousseaume, 1877 and report of an allopatric sibling form (Gastropoda Cystiscidae)
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2021.12.1.235.244

    ABSTRACT
    Gibberula lucia Jousseaume, 1877 (Gastropoda Cystiscidae) is revised, and the best conserved among the three MNHN syntypes is selected as lectotype. The typical form of G. lucia shows an original shell decoration made of continuous wavy axial lines. The distribution of this form seems to be restricted to the northwestern group and to the southern group of the Cape Verde Archipelago. A population showing interrupted axial lines is reported from Boa Vista and it looks as being perfectly similar to populations ranging off the Cap Vert Peninsula (Senegal) and off Fuerteventura (Eastern Canary Archipelago). Due to uncomplete documentation, the precise taxonomic status of this distinctive phena cannot be stated, at present, but despite its fragmented distribution, the concerned populations are united under the provisional term of G. cf. lucia, in the wait of further data.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 10 (3): 221-236

    Franck Boyer
    About the supra-generic classification of the Marginelliform Gastropods: a morphological study
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2019.10.3.221.236
    https://www.zoobank.org/References/441adf9d-e993-4e45-8bde-f6430a964559

    ABSTRACT
    The supra-generic classification of the marginelliform gastropods is reevaluated on the ground of a critical review of the main general revision works dealing with the combined analysis of the conchological characters, of the external anatomy and of the radular morphology, and less systematically of the organization of the alimentary tract. The disparate nature of several groups is demonstrated, and it provides grounds for the description of three new supra-generic taxa: Marginellonidae fam. nov., Plesiocystiscinidae fam. nov. and Canalispirinae subfam. nov.