Caecum cf. debile A. E. Verrill and Bush, 1900 sensu de Jong and Coomans, 1988

Caecum debile A. E. Verrill and Bush, 1900

From grit collected at a depth of  69 feet off Boynton Beach, Florida (2.5 mm.)

Original image by David Kirsh; commentary by Harry G. Lee
    The original description of Caecum debile A. E. Verrill and Bush, 1900 is brief and scarcely distinguishes it from C. delicatulum and C. crispum, all three named from Bermuda in the same paper. None was said to have an apertural varix or constriction, and only the latter two were illustrated.  Lightfoot (1992) took these three to be synonymous with C. heladum Olsson and Harbison, 1954, and Gomes and Absalão, (1998) agreed in the case of C. debile. Later Absalão and Gomes (2001), while omitting any mention of C. debile (??!!!), placed C. heladum in the synonymy of C. multicostatum de Folin, 1867, with which I agree. The above illustrated specimen differs significantly from C. multicostatum, principally in the apertural sculpture.

    There is no doubt in my mind that the species illustrated above, with its varix and constriction at the aperture, and which I have from Nevis, is the taxon de Jong and Coomans (1988) described and illustrated as C. debile A. E. Verrill and Bush, 1900, but there is a good chance it is not the Verrill and Bush taxon and is un-named.

Absalão, R. S. and R. S. Gomes, 2001.  The species usually reported in the subgenus Brochina (Caecum, Caecidae, Caenogastropoda) from Brazil and some relevant type specimen from the western Atlantic. Bolletino Malacologico 37(1-4): 9-22.

De Jong, K. M. and H. E. Coomans, 1988.  Marine gastropods from Curaçao, Aruba and  Bonaire. E. J. Brill, Leiden, v + pp 1-261 incl. 47 pls.

Gomes, R. S. and R. S. Absalão, 1998. Caecum debile Verrill and Bush, 1900 as a synonym of C. multicostatum Folin, 1867 (Gastropoda: Caecidae). Abstracts of the World Congress of Malacology, Washington, DC 25-30 July 1998. Chicago, 1998.

Lightfoot, Joanne, 1992b.  Caecidae of the western Atlantic Part 2. Of Sea and Shore 15(1): 23-32.

Verrill, A. E. and K. J. Bush, 1898.  Revision of the deep-water Mollusca of the Atlantic Coast of North America, with descriptions of new genera and species, Part I - Bivalvia. Proc. U. S. N. M. 20: 775-901 + pls. 71-97. June.