European marine Mollusca: notes on less well-known species. 1. Alvania (Alcidiella) spinosa Monterosato, 1890

The present paper is the first in a series which I intend to publish on less well-known European marine Mollusca. These notes will help to clarify certain points of controversy in the literature and also may be regarded as a critical review of some of the recent works by Nordsieck (1968, 1969 and 1972). Sometimes these notes will only serve to refigure and/or redescribe species which are rather rare and known only from one or a few occasions. This first note is concerned with the species Alvania spinosa which was described by Monterosato (1890: 147) with the following diagnosis in Italian: “Forma distinta del gruppo della tessellata, Philippiana ecc., ma che porta la sue prominenze spiccate ed in minor numero. Si direbbe che la scultura esagera i caratteri e diminuisce i dettagli. Ogni anfratto ha un solo ordine di spigoli. Pochi ma perfetti esemplari”.