A new Sveltia (Gastropoda: Cancellariidae) from off Guadeloupe, French West Indies

Abstract

Sveltia yoyottei, the first Recent species of Sveltia from the tropical western Atlantic, is described from bathyal depths off Guadeloupe, French West Indies. It is distinguished from its closest relative, Sveltia inquilinus (Jung and Petit, 1990) from the Pliocene of the Dominican Republic, by its shorter, more gradate spire, its narrower pseudoumbilicus, and by having fewer, stronger denticles along the outer lip. It differs from the Panamic S. centrota (Dall,1896) in having a smaller, narrower shell with 1-3 axial ribs between adjacent varices.