Dear Wolfgang,

The generic level taxon Sinistralia H. and A. Adams, 1853 is usually
employed as a subgenus of Fusinus Rafineque, 1815 and appears to be limited
to the Recent.  Its distribution (NW Africa, Canary Is. and W. Indian
Ocean) either reflects a Tethyan origin or, more likely, a polyphyletic
composition.

Valid species are:

F. (S.) maroccensis (Gmelin, 1791) from Morocco and Spanish Sahara.

F. (S.) elegans (Reeve, 1848) from Morocco (?) and Spanish Sahara. This is
close to the preceding.

F. (S.) barclayi (G. B. Sowerby III, 1895) from Mauritius.

F. (S.) gallagheri Smythe and Chatfiels, 1981 from Oman (and Dubai if you
are correct). The sinistral syntype of Fusus depictus G. B. Sowerby II,
1880 is almost certainly the same.

F. (S.) somaliensis Smythe and Chatfield, 1984 from Somalia.

Finally, the Sinistralia from Canary Islands is consistently different from
the mainland taxa and is distinct at the species level (although un-named).

I have a rather strong interest in this group and would appreciate hearing
more - especially about F. (S.) barclayi, which has eluded me (and every
collection I have ever searched).

Harry


At 11:19 AM 11/5/99 +0100, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>first I say thank you to all who helped with my question about
>Lavatera.
>I have a new question:
>
>Are there more than two Sinistralia species (maroccensis and the
>other comes from Dubai- I don't remember the name yet)
>are there any fossil species?
>
>Thank you
>Wolfgang Fischer
>Institut fuer Pflanzenbau u. Pflanzenzuechtung
>Universitaet fuer Bodenkultur
>Gregor Mendel Str. 33
>1180 Wien
>AUSTRIA
>
>http://ipp.boku.ac.at/private/wf/index.html
>E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>   Fax: ++43 1 47654-3342
>   Tel: ++43 1 47654-3307
>
Harry G. Lee
Suite 500
1801 Barrs St.
Jacksonville, Fl. 32204
USA   904-384-6419
<[log in to unmask]>
Visit the Jacksonville Shell Club Home Page at:
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/wfrank/jacksonv.htm

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