Bensonella serrata Gojšina, Hunyadi & Páll-Gergely, 2025

Bensonella serrata Gojšina, Hunyadi & Páll-Gergely sp. nov.

Type material.

Holotype. Myanmar • 1 shell (SH: 2.71 mm, SW: 1.92 mm); Shan State, 16 km from centre of Taunggyi towards Hopong, 1.5 km along road # 4, Shwe Pyi Aunchonda monastery; 20°47.263'N, 97°8.239'E; 1110 m a. s. l.; 08 Oct. 2018; A. Hunyadi, K. Okubo & J. U. Otani leg.; CUMZ 14443 View Materials GoogleMaps . Paratypes. Myanmar • 15 shells; same data as for holotype; coll. HA GoogleMaps • 13 shells; Shan State, Hopong, Sam Phu, Cave Ae- 5 at ridge above village Ho Hwe ; 20°41.103'N, 97°16.198'E; 02 Feb. 2019; J. Grego leg., coll. JG GoogleMaps .

Additional material examined.

Myanmar • 3 shells (damaged, not paratypes); same data as for holotype; coll. HA GoogleMaps • 5 shells (damaged / juveniles, not paratypes); Shan State, Hopong, Sam Phu, Cave Ae- 5 at ridge above village Ho Hwe ; 20°41.103'N, 97°16.198'E; 02 Feb. 2019; J. Grego leg., coll. JG GoogleMaps .

Type locality.

Myanmar, Shan State, 16 km from centre of Taunggyi towards Hopong, 1.5 km along road # 4, Shwe Pyi Aunchonda monastery; 20°47.263'N, 97°8.239'E; 1110 m a. s. l.

Diagnosis.

Bensonella species with pasty shell surface, last whorl adnate to the penultimate and palatal plicae with serrated, elevated inner and very low outer parts.

Description.

Shell triangular, slightly conical-ovoid, brown, not very glossy, consisting of 5–5.5 regularly increasing whorls separated by a deep suture. All whorls convex, rounded. Protoconch consisting of 1.5 whorls, finely pitted, showing spiralling pattern even though without clear spiral striae. The boundary between the protoconch and the teleoconch is visible due to the presence of radial growth lines on the teleoconch. Teleoconch surface finely dimpled, pasty and with less numerous, weak radial growth lines, spiral striae absent. Last whorl also rounded, adnate to the penultimate near the aperture. Last whorl slightly descending immediately behind the aperture (~ 10 ° compared to the shell axis) making the apertural profile slightly prosocline to the shell axis. Peristome weakly expanded but not reflected, its edges are thickened. Aperture equipped with numerous barriers, two of them relatively strong (parietal, columellar), others weak. Parietal lamella is the strongest and highest in the aperture. Angular lamella is the longest in the aperture, much longer than the parietal, very slender and low but continuous. Its inner and outer parts are higher than its middle part. Columellar lamella similar in length to the parietal but much weaker. There is one weak infraparietal lamella. On the palatal side, there are four main palatal plicae which are all almost equally strong and long (upper palatal, two interpalatals, and a lower palatal). They are all elevated at their inner ends and sloping towards the outer end, ending very low. These low parts are equipped with numerous small spines (serrated), thus resembling a saw. Palatal tubercle, sitting on the palatal lip, is weak but clearly present. There are several suprapalatal plicae (with similar morphology as in the main palatals) all weak and located inside the sinulus (the length and number (usually two to four) of these plicae is variable and not useful in species identification). There are usually two basal plicae (although one of them could be homologous with the infrapalatal plica), which are long but can occasionally be shorter. Surface of all barriers is finely granulated. Sinulus not strongly isolated from the rest of the aperture due to the low angular lamella and weak palatal tubercle. Umbilicus is narrow, measuring 1 / 8 of the shell width.

Differential diagnosis.

This species can be separated from its congeners by the presence of equally strong palatal plicae with elevated inner and very low outer portions equipped with numerous spines.

Measurements

(in mm, n = 5). SH = 2.52–2.86; SW = 1.80–2.06; AH = 0.94–1.03; AW = 0.83–0.94.

Etymology.

This species is named for the serrated (saw-like) palatal plicae.

Distribution.

This species is known from two localities situated ca 18 km apart (straight-line distance).