Micromelo scriptus (Garrett, Citation1857)

Description

An elongate-oval aplustrid with a thin, translucent grey body and a pale ovoid shell marked by three distant transverse black lines crossed by longitudinal waved lineations. White spots on the body are comparatively large and widely spaced — the distance between spots is equal to or greater than the spots themselves. This pattern distinguishes M. scriptus from its congeners (M. undatus and M. guamensis, in which the spots are smaller and more densely arranged). The mantle, rhinophores, and foot bear a marginal yellow-orange band followed by a pale blue or green diffuse area. The headshield is as long as wide, prominently narrower at mid-length, with a smooth posterior margin. The shell is elongate with convex sides, the apex extending beyond the posterior end of the aperture.

Distribution

Widespread across the Indo-West Pacific and Central Pacific, with records from Hawaii, Mozambique, South Africa, Samoa, Taiwan, and French Polynesia. No Japanese records are mentioned in the original revision. The type locality is Hilo, Hawaiian Islands (intertidal pools on the west coast).
Resurrected as a valid species from Bulla scripta Garrett, 1857 in the 2021 revision by Feliciano et al.

Etymology

The specific epithet scriptus is Latin for "written" or "inscribed," referring to the linear markings on the shell, which the author likened to writing. Described by Andrew Garrett in 1857 as Bulla scripta in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. 9, p. 103, based on shells from shallow pools on the west coast of Hilo, Hawaiian Islands. The original description contains no figures, and the syntype material is probably lost (no type specimens located at the Bishop Museum or the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University).

Remarks

Feliciano et al. 2021 split the former M. undatus sensu lato into four species and assigned the name M. scriptus (Garrett, 1857) to the widespread Indo-Pacific lineage. Bulla eximia Deshayes, 1863 (Réunion Island) has been placed in synonymy.
Like other species in the genus, M. scriptus feeds on cirratulid polychaete worms.
No Japanese vernacular name has been proposed for this species as of April 2026.

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References

• Bulla scripta, Garrett A. (1857). Descriptions of new species of marine shells, inhabiting the South Sea islands. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 9: 102-108.
• Micromelo scriptus, Feliciano, K., Malaquias, M.A.E., Stout, C., Brenzinger, B., Gosliner, T.M. & Valdés, Á. (2021). Molecular and morphological analyses reveal pseudocryptic diversity in Micromelo undatus (Bruguière, 1792) (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Aplustridae). Systematics and Biodiversity. DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2021.1939458: 1-25.