tenuifissa, Dentalium [ Fustiaria rubescens (Deshayes, 1825)] (Figures 40I –K)

1884h: 33 [XXXI: 689]—available name

Type material. MCZR–M–12904 —1 sh with slit (along with 1 sh without slit) “ Dentalium rubescen (Desh) Civitavecchia ”

MCZR –M–12889 —10 sh with slit (along with 19 sh without slit) “ D. rubescens Palermo Magnisi Siracusa ” MCZR –M–12950 —3 sh with slit (along with 3 sh without slit) “Adriatico Brusina” // 2 sh with slit (along with 1 sh without slit) “ D. rubescens Phil. Corse ”// 2 sh with slit (along with 2 sh without slit) “ Fustiaria rubescens Alger (Joly)”// 4 sh with slit (along with 2 sh without slit) “vr. Albina Monts Minorca ”// 1 sh (with slit) “ D. rubescens maximum Coll. O. G. Costa Taranto?”// 5 sh with slit “ Fustiaria rubescens v. maxima Civitav. a (Donati)”// 3 sh with slit “Quartu Sardegna Fra Piero”// 2 sh with slit “ rubescens Desh. spec. maxima Martigues (Martin”

Type locality. Described from Monte Pellegrino † (Sicily) and Monte Mario † (Italy) and Mediterranean Sea.

Remarks. Noticing in samples of Dentalium rubescens Deshayes, 1826, from the same locality, the occurrence of specimens with an apical slit or cleft along with others lacking this character, Monterosato (1884h: 33) introduced (conditionally) the name tenuifissa for the clefted form. No material in the Monterosato collection is explicitly labelled under this name, but a number of lots are labelled as Dentalium rubescens . Several of them include both shells with apical slit and others which lack it, and we consider as type material only the shells with slit. The apical slit fits the characters of Fustiaria Stoliczka, 1868, the genus to which Dentalium rubescens Deshayes, 1826, is usually ascribed (see, e.g., Caprotti, 1979: 241; Sabelli et al., 1990 –1092: 103, 342, 493). Recorded by MolluscaBase (2018) as taxon inquirendum. We easily synonymyze it with Fustiaria rubescens (Deshayes, 1825) [new synonymy].