Relevant Synonyms ? Columbella exilis Philippi, 1849 Columbella savignyi Moazzo, 1939 Misidentification Anachis atomella (Duclos) [van Aartsen, 1963, corrected in Van Aartsen, 1997] Anachis (Zafra) cf. melitoma (Melvill and Standen, 1901) [Palazzi, 1993, corrected in Tringali and Villa, 1995]  photo: G. Buzzuro - E. Greppi

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell small, fusiform, with 7-8 whorls. Protoconch with three smooth whorls. Teleoconch with flat, smooth axial ribs, becoming faint on basal part of body whorl and replaced there by flat, crowded spiral threads. Aperture elongated, with outer lip thickened inside, anteriorly with a sinus and with the remainder bearing 4-5 denticles on a ridge. Columella with 3-4 oblique folds. Siphonal canal quite deeply incised. color : pale tan with oblique brown lines on the body whorl. common size : 3.8 x 1.6 mm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS This species resembles Z. selasphora, from which it is easily distinguished by the folded columella and the pattern of oblique lines. It does not resemble any native species. The taxonomy of the many look-alike Indo-Pacific species is still unsettled, and further research may reveal that there are older names for this species. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Larvae are planktotrophic, ensuring long-distance dispersal. habitat : Mediterranean habitat in 15-30 m water depth, in or around Posidonia grounds (Tringali and Villa, 1995).

1st Mediterranean record Israel, 1972 [1954]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: Red Sea. Mediterranean: recorded first in 1954, in Israel as Columbella savignyi (Mienis, 1972, with illustration; 1976d); then recorded from Lebanon (Bogi and Khairallah, 1987); south Turkey (Palazzi, 1993, as Anachis cfr. melitoma); Cyprus (Buzzurro and Greppi, 1997). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Established in southern Turkey, rare in Israel. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Possibly via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Mienis H.K., 1972. On the nomenclature and distribution of Columbella savignyi. Argamon, 3(1-4): 17-19. Mienis H.K., 1976d. A further note on Anachis (Zafra) savignyi (Moazzo) from the Mediterranean. Levantina, 5: 54-55. Palazzi S., 1993. Ci sono due Zafra in Mediterraneo, ma come si chiamano? Notiziario del CISMA, 14: 13-18.   Tringali L. and Villa R., 1995. On the identity of the Lessepsian species of the genus Anachis H. and A. Adams, 1853, subgenus Zafra A. Adams, 1860 found in the Levant Sea. La Conchiglia, 274: 15-19. van Aartsen J.J., 1997. Anachis in the Mediterranean: a note on distribution. La Conchiglia, 282: 29. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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