Dear Listers,

Pilsbry and Lowe (1932) based this subgenus on Mangelia melanosticta P. &
L., 1932.  The three- to four-whorled protoconch of that species happens to
have a spiral keel, so Paul's latter alternative is the one you should "pick."

It is linguistically and taxonomically unfortunate that this protoconch is
far from a consistent feature of shells that are related to the type
species of Steironepion, now considered a genus with Panamic and Caribbean
representatives.

Harry


At 05:09 PM 5/11/2004, you wrote:
>Well gee David, it's Greek to everyone.
>
>"nepion" means "baby" or "infant".  Probably a reference to the minute
>size of species in that genus.
>
>The "steiro-" part is a tossup. It could be, and I think it is, from
>"steiros", meaning "sterile".  Sterile infant??  Well, who knows what the
>author had in mind?  Another possible root, also Greek, is "steira",
>meaning a keel.  That makes more sense as a descriptive adjective for a
>shell, except that Steironepion species don't have anything resembling a
>keel as far as I know.  Longitudinal ribs maybe but nothing I would call a
>"keel".  So, take your pick.  "Sterile Infant" or "Keeled Infant".
>
>Paul M.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>David Kirsh
>To: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]
>Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 1:09 PM
>Subject: translation
>Concholinguists,
>
>What's the meaning of Steironepion? It's Greek to me.
>
>David Kirsh
>Durham, NC
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Harry G. Lee
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