''Tubbreva exaltata'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

in the family

Anabathridae Anabathridae is a family of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the order Littorinimorpha. Genera * Genus '' Afriscrobs'' W.F. Ponder, 1983 **'' Afriscrobs adjacens'' ( E. A. Smith, 1910) **'' Afriscrobs africanus'' (Bartsch, 1915) **'' ...

. First described by Badwn Powell in 1933 as ''Notosetia exaltata'', it is endemic to the waters of New Zealand. There are two subspecies, ''Tubbreva exaltata exaltata'' and ''Tubbreva exaltata sorenseni''.

Description

Powell described the species as follows: The species measures 1.55mm, by 0.9mm.

Subspecies

In 1965,

Winston Ponder Winston Frank Ponder (born 1941) is a malacologist born and educated in New Zealand who has named and described many marine and freshwater animals, especially micromolluscs. Education and career Ponder graduated with an MSc, PhD (1968) and ...

reclassified the species ''Notosetia sorenseni'' (originally described by himself in 1955) as a subspecies of ''Tubbreva exaltata'', due to the two groups' similar appearances. the new subspecies, now known by the name ''Tubbreva exaltata sorenseni'', differs by having a shorter spire and relatively more inflated body whorl.

Distribution

The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The holotype was collected by either A.W.B. Powell or C.A. Fleming in February 1933, offshore from Owenga Beach in the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...

. It is found in the south of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

, the

and the

New Zealand Subantarctic Islands The New Zealand Subantarctic Islands comprise the five southernmost groups of the New Zealand outlying islands. They are collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most of the islands lie near the southeast edge of the large ...

, with specimens reported as far north as

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

on the west coast of the North Island.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3733684 Anabathridae Gastropods described in 1933 Gastropods of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic molluscs of New Zealand Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Taxa named by Arthur William Baden Powell