The ectoparasitic gastropod genus Cerithiopsis Forbes & Hanley, 1850 was nominally based on Murex tubercularis Montagu, 1803. We have used the DNA barcode COI sequences to assay sympatric samples of morphotypes recently described as distinct species of the Cerithiopsis tubercularis-complex. Our results demonstrated that, in the Croatian waters, the gastropods usually called C. tubercularis in fact comprise a complex of cryptic species, which can be reliably diagnosed only by examining the soft parts. In the present study we have demonstrated that the colour pattern of the head-foot is diagnostic at the species level in this complex and, coupled with genetic data, may provide a sounding base for a revision of the cerithiopsids of the European coasts.

Eumetula vitrea, a new species of Cerithiopsidae, is described from the upper continental slope outside western Norway. The taxonomic status of the Eumetula species complex is discussed. While Eumetula arctica is a shelf species rarely found in sub-zero waters, E. vitrea is one of a group of species supposedly found only in negative temperature or water fluctuating between negative and positive temperatures (below ~570 m) in the bathyal around the Norwegian Sea.