Bensonella mirabilis Gojsina, Grego & Pall-Gergely 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gojšina, Vukašin
name: Hunyadi, András
name: Sutcharit, Chirasak
name: Tongkerd, Piyoros
name: Auffenberg, Kurt
name: Grego, Jozef
name: Vermeulen, Jaap J.
name: Reischütz, Alexander
name: Páll-Gergely, Barna
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Stylommatophora
Hypselostomatidae
Bensonella
Bensonella mirabilis

description: Bensonella mirabilis Gojšina, Grego & Páll-Gergely sp. nov.
Figs 39 M, 66, 67, 95
Type material.
Holotype. Myanmar • 1 shell (SH: 2.05 mm, SW: 1.65 mm); Kayah State, Hpruso district, Maw Thi Do, road towards Han Li village, under bridge over Phruno river; 19°22.966'N, 97°2.153'E; 12 Feb. 2019; J. Grego leg.; CUMZ 14438. Paratypes. Myanmar • 9 shells; same data as for holotype; coll. JG • 13 shells; Kayah state, Hpruso district, Maw Thi Do Village, entrance of Phruno river cave; 19°22.744'N, 97°2.570'E; 12 Feb. 2019; J. Grego leg.; coll. JG • 1 shell; same data as previous; coll. HA • 1 shell; same data as previous; coll. VG • 2 shells; Kayah State, Hpruso distr., Hoyar village, Kwar Yin cave; 19°18.096'N, 96°56.396'E; 13 Feb. 2019; J. Grego leg.; coll. JG • 1 shell; Kayah state, Hpruso district, Maw Thi Do, road towards Han Li village, rocks above bridge over Phruno river; 19°23.011'N, 97°2.108'E; 12 Feb. 2019; J. Grego leg.; coll. JG.
Additional material examined.
Myanmar • 5 shells (juveniles, not paratypes); same data as for holotype; coll. JG.
Type locality.
Myanmar, Kayah State, Hpruso district, Maw Thi Do, road towards Han Li village, under bridge over Phruno river; 19°22.966'N, 97°2.153'E.
Diagnosis.
Bensonella species with seven apertural barriers and a prominent hooked upper palatal plica which is pointing laterally (toward the palatal wall).
Description.
Shell triangular, slightly conical-ovoid, brownish, consisting of 5–5.5 whorls separated by a deep suture. All whorls rounded, convex, regularly increasing. Protoconch coarsely spirally striated, ~ 1.5 whorls. Spiral striae much more prominent terminally on the protoconch. Teleoconch with a fine pasty surface sculpture, without spiral striae but with fine radial growth lines. Last whorl rounded, adnate to the penultimate and straight near the aperture. Peristome brownish as the rest of the shell, expanded but not reflected. It is leaning on the penultimate whorl in form of a strong but not much expanded parietal callus. Palatal side of the peristome sinuated in its middle part, next to the palatal tubercle. Behind the expanding peristome, a weak cervical crest is present. Sinulus small and narrow, distinctly separated from the rest of the aperture. Aperture subrectangular, equipped with a smaller number of barriers (angular, parietal, upper palatal, lower palatal, columellar, infraparietal and palatal tubercle) than usual in Bensonella. Parietal lamella long but not reaching the expanding peristome. Angular lamella consisting of two separated parts: inner, which is slightly curved and positioned deeper in the aperture and outer part which is reaching the peristome edge. There is a strong sinuation between the inner and outer parts of the angular lamella. Palatal wall equipped with upper and lower palatal plica. Upper palatal plica of very peculiar appearance: it is very high with a hook positioned laterally (not pointing outside but directly to the palatal wall). Lower palatal plica nearly as strong as the parietal lamella. In front of the upper palatal plica, on the peristome edge, a strong palatal tubercle is observed. Columellar lamella rather weak. Above the columellar lamella, one additional infraparietal is present and it is nearly equally strong as the columellar. Surface of all apertural barriers is finely granulated. Umbilicus oblique (slightly elongated) and narrow, measuring ~ 1 / 6–1 / 7 of the shell width.
Differential diagnosis.
This species is easily distinguished from all other congeners by the presence of a laterally hooked upper palatal plica.
Measurements
(in mm, n = 5). SH = 2.03–2.16; SW = 1.52–1.70; AH = 0.80–0.88; AW = 0.77–0.82
Etymology.
Named for the remarkable upper palatal plica (laterally hooked).
Distribution.
Known from four sampling sites in Kayah state, Hpruso district.
description: Published as part of Gojšina, Vukašin, Hunyadi, András, Sutcharit, Chirasak, Tongkerd, Piyoros, Auffenberg, Kurt, Grego, Jozef, Vermeulen, Jaap J., Reischütz, Alexander & Páll-Gergely, Barna, 2025, A new start? Revision of the genera Anauchen, Bensonella, Gyliotrachela and Hypselostoma (Gastropoda, Eupulmonata, Hypselostomatidae) of Southeast Asia with description of 46 new species, pp. 1-338 in ZooKeys 1235 on pages 1-338, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1235.145281