Bittium iadertinum var. coralligena Bellini, 1902a: 91

Fasulo, Giuseppe, Duraccio, Sergio, Federico, Antonio & Crocetta, Fabio, 2019, The (almost) unknown Italian naturalist Raffaello Bellini (1874 - 1930): biography malacological publications, and status of his recent molluscan taxa, Zootaxa 4668 (3), pp. 343-369 : 352-353

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4668.3.3
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DC193332-6762-47B2-B2E6-C5949D56D41E
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03BE8B34-EB77-FFC7-FF74-EC48FE15FD87
treatment provided by	Plazi (2019-09-19 12:55:41, last updated 2024-11-26 05:33:53)
scientific name	Bittium iadertinum var. coralligena Bellini, 1902a: 91
status

Treatment

Bittium iadertinum var. coralligena Bellini, 1902a: 91 , 102, figs. 7a–c [ex Monterosato ms.]

( Fig. 4A View FIGURE 4 )

Type locality: Capri Island (Naples, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) .

Original description: not described. This taxon was never formally described, but only figured in Bellini (1902a) under the name “ Bittium iadertinum Brusina var. coralligena Monterosato ”. Monterosato also never described this taxon (see Appolloni et al. 2018), and thus this name is available due to Bellini (1902) ’s figures, published before 1931 ( ICZN 2012: Art. 11, 12).

Material examined: 15 shells labelled by Bellini “ Bittium iadertinum Brus. var. coralligenum Mtros—Capri ” (MCZR—not numbered) actually belong to Bittium jadertinum Brusina, 1865 , now a junior synonym of Bittium reticulatum (da Costa, 1778) (MolluscaBase 2019c) ( Fig. 4B, C View FIGURE 4 ).

Remarks: having been instituted as a race connected to a specific habitat, we rank it subspecific, and thus available ( ICZN 2012: Art. 10, glossary). Strangely, Praus Franceschini (1906) listed “ var. coralligena ” as a variety of Bittium latreillei (Payraudeau, 1826) and “ var. corallinum Mtrs. ” as a variety of Bittium jadertinum Brusina, 1865 , thus raising doubts as to whether or not he cited the taxon introduced by Bellini (1902a). Material belonging to both taxa was deposited in the MZF2 museum by himself, thus not constituting the original types; such material was also not found by us in MZF2. Also Bellini (1929a) only listed Bittium iadertinum var. corallinum in his general overview of the marine molluscan species living in the Gulf of Naples, thus apparently skipping his own taxon. No other mention to Bittium iadertinum var. coralligena Bellini, 1902a was found in the subsequent malacological literature. Taking into account the complex taxonomy of the genus Bittium Gray, 1847 , as well as the low quality of the original figures, this taxon may fit several congeneric Mediterranean taxa, and thus it is considered a nomen dubium ( ICZN 2012: glossary).

References

Appolloni, M., Smriglio, C., Amati, B., Luglie, L., Nofroni, I., Tringali, L. P., Mariottini, P. & Oliverio, M. (2018) Catalogue of the primary types of marine molluscan taxa described by Tommaso Allery Di Maria, Marquis of Monterosato, deposited in the Museo Civico di Zoologia, Roma. Zootaxa, 4477 (1), 1 - 138. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4477.1.1

Bellini, R. (1902 a) Contribuzione alla conoscenza della fauna dei molluschi marini dell'isola di Capri. Bollettino della Societa dei Naturalisti in Napoli, Series 1, 15, 85 - 121.

Bellini, R. (1929 a) I molluschi del Golfo di Napoli (studi precedenti, l'ambiente, enumerazione e sinonimia). Annuario del Museo Zoologico della R. Universita di Napoli, 6 (2), 1 - 87.

ICZN [International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature] (2012) International code of zoological nomenclature. 4 th Edition. International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, London. Available from: http: // www. iczn. org / (accessed 15 Feburary 2019)

Praus Franceschini, C. (1906) Elenco delle conchiglie del Golfo di Napoli e del Mediterraneo esistenti nel Museo Zoologico di Napoli. Annuario del Museo Zoologico della R. Universita di Napoli, 2 (5), 1 - 68.

Figures

FIGURE 4. A–C. Bittium iadertinum var. coralligena. A. Original figures. B. Possible type material from Capri Island (Naples)—4.9×1.5 mm. C. Original label handwritten by Bellini. MCZR—not numbered. D, E. Murex trunculus var. propeconglobata. D. Fossil(?) shell from Sciacca (Agrigento)—72.4×52.8 mm. E. Original label handwritten by Monterosato. MCZR- M-7623. F, G. Fusus (Pseudofusus) pulchellus var. curta. F. Original figures. G. Shells from Capri Island (Naples) and original label handwritten by Monterosato (up to 16 mm in total height). MCCIC—drawer 8, n. 146. H. Clathromangilia granum var. prausi. Original figures. I. Left. Cardium (Parvicardium) exiguum var. minimum. Original figure. I. Right. Cardium (Parvicardium) exiguum var. paludosum. Original figures.