Gibberula is a genus of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk. This genus is sometimes placed in the family Cystiscidae and sometimes left in the family Marginellidae, the margin shells or marginellids.

(Note: Gastropod taxonomy has been in flux for many years. This is especially true currently, because of new research in molecular phylogeny. Because of all this ongoing change, different reliable sources can yield very different classifications, especially within certain poorly understood groups.)

The type species of the genus Gibberula Swainson, 1840 is G. zonata Swainson.

Other genus-group names are available for small shells resembling Gibberula. These include Granula Jousseaume, 1875 and Kogomea Habe, 1951. They are distinguished from Gibberula only on the basis of smaller size and other rather tenuous conchological differentiations.

Shell description

The shell of this genus is 1.5 to 10 mm in length, ovoid, stout, with a small, low spire. The outer lip is thickened but without an external varix. It is usually denticulated inside. The columella has several plaits on a thickened rim, decreasing in size towards the posterior end. The siphonal canal is distinctly notched.

Animal

Head and foot

The head is deeply divided in two. There are two short cephalic tentacles and two small anterior lobes. The eyes are a short distance behinde the tentacles. The mouth is provided with an extensible proboscis. The foot is only slightly longer than the shell when extended. In some species, the sole lies flat on the substrate when the animal is crawling. Others have the edge of the propodium raised, developed as parapodia which fit the head/tentacles in the manner of many tectibranchs.
Color pattern of the head and foot is a useful taxonomic character in all the species.

Mantle

The mantle does not extend over the shell during normal activity. A tongue shaped, translucent lobe may be seen on the left side in some instances. The internal mantle is usually visible through the shell. It may be brightly coloured in the smaller species with a featureless, translucent shell, and its pattern is then continued into the spire over the visceral mass. The siphon is short and unconspicuous, often bordered by a small pad.

Reproduction

All species of marginellids have a direct development without a planktonic phase.

Species

• Gibberula abyssicola Monterosato in Locard, 1897
• Gibberula achenea Roth & Coan, 1971
• Gibberula aequatorialis Thiele, 1925
• Gibberula agapeta Watson, 1886
• Gibberula albotriangularis Rolan & Fernandes, 1997
• Gibberula aldridgei Usticke, 1969
• Gibberula almadiensis Pin & Boyer, 1994
• Gibberula almo Bartsch, 1915
• Gibberula atlantidea Knudsen, 1956
• Gibberula aurata Bavay, 1913
• Gibberula asellina Jousseaume, 1875
• Gibberula bengelensis Jousseaume, 1875
• Gibberula bribri Espinosa y Ortea, 2000
• Gibberula bulbosa Reeve, 1865
• Gibberula burnupi Sowerby III, 1897
• Gibberula caelata (Monterosato, 1897)
• Gibberula caribetica Espinosa and Ortea, 2002
• Gibberula cherubini (Bavay, 1912)
• Gibberula chudeaui Bavay, 1910
• Gibberula columnella Bavay, 1913
• Gibberula compressa Laseron, 1957
• Gibberula confusa Gofas, 1988
• Gibberula cristata Gofas, 1988
• Gibberula crustata (Locard, 1897)
• Gibberula cucullata Gofas & Fernandes, 1987
• Gibberula decorfasciata Rolan & Fernandes, 1997
• Gibberula dens Reeve, 1865
• Gibberula diadema Pin & Boyer, 1994
• Gibberula differens E. A. Smith, 1904
• Gibberula diplostreptus May, 1916
• Gibberula dulcis E.A. Smith, 1904
• Gibberula encaustica Reeve, 1865
• Gibberula epigrus Reeve, 1865
• Gibberula evadne Dall & Simpson, 1901
• Gibberula falsijaponica (Habe, 1961)
• Gibberula ficula Murdoch & Suter, 1906
• Gibberula gabryae Bozzetti, 1993
• Gibberula gruveli Bavay, 1913
• Gibberula hardingae Dell, 1956
• Gibberula hernandezi Contreras & Talavera, 1988
• Gibberula infundibulum Bozzetti, 1994
• Gibberula inopinata Barnard, 1962
• Gibberula insularum Roth & Coan, 1971
• Gibberula jansseni Arsten Menkhorst & G., 1984
• Gibberula jeanae Lussi & Smith, 1998
• Gibberula lavalleana d'Orbigny, 1842
• Gibberula lazaroi Contreras, 1992
• Gibberula lifouana Crosse, 1871
• Gibberula lorenziana Bozzetti, 1997
• Gibberula louisae Bavay, 1913
• Gibberula lucia Jousseaume, 1877
• Gibberula mazagonica Mellvill, 1892
• Gibberula mendacis Gofas, 1988
• Gibberula miliaria (Linné, 1758)
• Gibberula mimetica Gofas, 1989
• Gibberula minor Adams, 1852
• Gibberula modica Gofas & Fernandes, 1987
• Gibberula novemprovincialis (Yokoyama, 1928)
• Gibberula oryza Lamarck, 1822
• Gibberula ovata Habe, 1951
• Gibberula pacifica Pease, 1868
• Gibberula pallata Bavay, 1913
• Gibberula pascuana Rehder, 1980
• Gibberula philippi (Monterosato, 1878)
• Gibberula polita Carpenter, 1857
• Gibberula punctilum Gofas & Fernandes, 1987
• Gibberula quadrifasciata (Marrat, 1873)
• Gibberula rauli Fernandes, 1988
• Gibberula recondita Monterosato, 1884
• Gibberula ros Reeve, 1865
• Gibberula rufanensis Turton, 1932
• Gibberula sansibarica Thiele, 1925
• Gibberula savignyi Issel, 1869
• Gibberula scalarispira Bozzetti, 1997
• Gibberula sebastiani Bozzetti, 1997
• Gibberula secreta Monterosato, 1889
• Gibberula striata Laseron, 1957
• Gibberula sueziensis Issel, 1869
• Gibberula subbulbosa Tate, 1878
• Gibberula subtrigona Carpenter, 1865
• Gibberula tantula Gofas, 1989
• Gibberula tenera Menke, 1830
• Gibberula terverianella Bavay, 1922
• Gibberula turgidula Locard & Caziot, 1900
• Gibberula vignali (Dautzenberg & Fischer, 1896)
• Gibberula zonata Swainson, 1840 T

References

• 1995 - Revision of the Supraspecific Classification of Marginelliform Gastrapods. The Nautilus 109(2 & 3):43-110

1999. Descripción de nuevas marginelas (Mollusca: Neogastropoda: Marginellidae) de Cuba y del Caribe de Costa Rica y Panamá. Avicennia 10/11:165-176.

2000. Descripción de un género y once especies nuevas de Cystiscidae y Marginellidae (Mollusca: Neogastropoda) del Caribe de Costa Rica. Aviccenia 12/13:95-114.

2002. Nuevas especies de margineliformes de Cuba, Bahamas y el Mar Caribe de Costa Rica. Avicennia 15:101-128.

1987. Le Genre Gibberula (Marginellidae) en Mediterranee. Atti del II Congresso Societa Italiana di Malacologia. No. 23, 113-119

1989. The Marginellidae of Angola: The genus Gibberula. Journal of Conchology Vol. 33 (1989), No. 3, 109-139

• . Expeditions Scientifiques du Travailleur et du Talisman. Tomo I
• 1999. Cystiscidae in South Africa. Part 1 Genus Gibberula, Persicula & Canalispira. (Aug. 1999)
• 1976. Type specimens of Mollusca in the collection of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Type specimens of recent Marginellidae. Basteria, Vol. 40, No. 1
• 1998. Taxones publicados en Iberus (1981-1997). Iberus
• 2000. 2000 - Marine Mollusks in Japan
• . Checklist of the Angolan marine molluscs. Reseñas Malacológicas X (June 1999)
• 1973. A review of the Marginellidae described by Bavay, 1903-1922. The Veliger Vol. 16; No. 2: 207-215
• 1932. The Marine Shells of Port Alfred, S. Africa. Oxford University Press