Conasprella (Conasprella) boucheti ( Richard, 1983 )

Tenorio, Manuel J. & Puillandre, Nicolas, 2023, Revision of the deep-water cone snail fauna from New Caledonia (Gastropoda, Conoidea), European Journal of Taxonomy 896, pp. 1-134 : 48

Conasprella (Conasprella) boucheti ( Richard, 1983)

Figs 2 , 34–35

Conus (Endemoconus) boucheti Richard, 1983: 53 .

Conus species no. 108, 108a – Estival 1981: 110–111.

Conus boucheti – R̂ckel et al. 1995b: no. 237, pl. 51 figs 21–24.

Endemoconus boucheti – Tucker & Tenorio 2013: 115.

Conasprella boucheti – Monnier et al. 2018a: 196.

Material examined

176 lots (438 specimens). See Supp. file 1.

Type material

Holotype NEW CALEDONIA • 17.5 mm; SW of Île des Pins, off New Caledonia ; 22°05′ S, 167°15′ E; 400 m depth; MNHN-IM-2000-2578 ( Fig. 34A ).

Figured material

NEW CALEDONIA • 23.8 mm; off New Caledonia , stn CC246; 22º08′ S, 167º11′ E; 410‒420 m depth; 3 Oct. 1985; MUSORSTOM 4 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34B ) • 24.5 mm; Plateau des Chesterfield , off New Caledonia, stn DW2610; 19º34′ S, 158º41′ E; 486‒494 m depth; 19 Oct. 2005; EBISCO expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34C ) • 20.8 mm; Loyalty Ridge , off New Caledonia, stn DW460; 21º02′ S, 167º31′ E; 420 m depth; 20 Feb. 1989; MUSORSTOM 6 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34D ) • 27.3 mm; Lansdowne Fairway , off New Caledonia, stn DE16; 20º48′ S, 160º56′ E; 500 m depth; 21 Jul. 1988; CORAIL 2 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34E ) • 24.8 mm; off S New Caledonia , stn DW222; 22º58′ S, 167º33′ E; 410‒440 m depth; 30 Sep. 1985; MUSORSTOM 4 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34F ) • 20.2 mm; Norfolk Ridge , Banc Jumeau Est, off New Caledonia, stn DW13; 23°45′ S, 168°17′ E; 400 m depth; 12 Aug. 1999; LITHIST expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34G ) • 17.2 mm; Loyalty Ridge , off New Caledonia, stn DW459; 21º01′ S, 167º31′ E; 425 m depth; 20 Feb. 1989; MUSORSTOM 6 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34H ) • 18.5 mm; same collection data as for preceding; MNHN ( Fig. 34I ) • 18 mm; Nova Bank Nord , off New Caledonia, stn DW2534; 22º17′ S, 159º28′ E; 390‒430 m depth; 10 Oct. 2005; EBISCO expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34J ) • 12.6 mm; Loyalty Ridge , off New Caledonia, stn DW487; 21º23′ S, 167º46′ E; 500 m depth; 23 Feb. 1989; MUSORSTOM 6 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34K ) • 19.6 mm; Norfolk Ridge , Munida, off New Caledonia, stn DW3107; 23º01′ S, 169º23′ E; 380‒440 m depth; 27 Oct. 2008; TERRASSES expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 34L ) • 19 mm; Grand Passage , off N New Caledonia, stn DW3003; 18º34′ S, 163º08′ E; 450-454 m depth; 7 May 2008; CONCALIS expedition; Atheris coll. ( Fig. 34M ) .

Geographical distribution and bathymetry

New Caledonia, Coral Sea and New Hebrides Arc including Vanuatu, typically at depths between 300 and 600 m. Also reported from Fiji at depths of 390‒405 m ( Moolenbeek et al. 2008).

Remarks

Small to medium-sized (maximum shell length 30 mm) conical shell with a carinate shoulder and moderately high spire of concave outline. Protoconch multispiral of about 3 whorls ( Fig. 34L ). Teleoconch sutural ramp with strong radial threads. There are 3 or 4 closely-set punctate spiral grooves just below the shoulder. Other than this, the last whorl can be essentially smooth, or variably covered with wide, axially striate spiral grooves. The typical shell pattern consists of about 6–8 broad brown spiral lines on the ribbons between the basal spiral grooves, but certain specimens also display interrupted brown bars and dashes or irregular brown blotches on the lavender-white area above the basal third. Radular tooth ( Fig. 34M ) with an indistinct barb and a pointed blade covering about one third of the anterior section, which is much shorter than the posterior section. Shaft fold present. Basal spur is present on top of the slanted base. This is a relatively abundant species in deep water around New Caledonia. In the phylogeny ( Fig. 2 ), all the sequenced specimens of C. boucheti form a well-supported clade which is sister to the other species of Conasprella .

Figures

Fig. 2. Cox1-based Bayesian phylogeny. Posterior probabilities (> 0.95) and bootstrap values (> 90) from the ML analysis are provided for each node. Intraspecific relationships are collapsed. Subgenus names are indicated on the right.

Fig. 34. Conasprella (Conasprella) boucheti (Richard, 1983). A. Holotype, SW of Île des Pins, 400 m depth, 17.5 mm (MNHN-IM-2000-2578).B. Off New Caledonia, 410‒420 m depth, 23.8 mm. C. Plateau des Chesterfield, 486‒494 m depth, 24.5 mm. D. Loyalty Ridge, 420 m depth, 20.8 mm. E. Coral Sea, Lansdowne Fairway, 500 m depth, 27.3 mm. F. S New Caledonia, 410‒440 m depth, 24.8 mm. G. Norfolk Ridge, Banc Jumeau Est, 400 m depth, 20.2 mm. H. Loyalty Ridge, 425 m depth, 17.2 mm. I. Same collection data as for specimen H, 18.5 mm. J. Coral Sea, Banc Nova Nord, 390‒430 m depth, 18 mm. K. Loyalty Ridge, 500 m depth, 12.6 mm. L. Protoconch of specimen from Norfolk Ridge, Banc Munida, 380‒440 m depth. M. Radular tooth of specimen from Grand Passage, 450‒454 m depth, 19 mm (Atheris coll.). Scale bars = 10 mm, unless otherwise stated.

Fig. 35. Bathymetric range and distribution map for Conasprella (Conasprella) boucheti (Richard, 1983). Red circles indicate the points where the species was collected.