Coralliophila latilirata Rehder, 1985

Oliverio, Marco, 2009, Diversity of Coralliophilinae (Mollusca, Neogastropoda, Muricidae) at Austral Islands (South Pacific), Zoosystema 31 (4), pp. 759-789 : 764

Coralliophila latilirata Rehder, 1985 ( Fig. 3 A-C)

Coralliophila latilirata Rehder, 1985: 97-100 .

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype ( USNM 731531 , Fig. 3B, C ). Paratypes: type locality 1 dd ( USNM 731831 ) ; 1dd ( USNM 789442 ) ; 3 dd ( USNM 731765 ). — Cook Islands, fragments ( USNM 732270 ) ; fragments of at least two specimens ( USNM 732262 ). — Society Islands , 1 dd ( USNM 668779 ). — Tuamotu Islands, 3 dd ( USNM 697685 ) ; 1 dd ( USNM 697956 ) ; 1 dd ( USNM 698743 ) ; 1 dd ( USNM 725347 ) ; 1 dd ( USNM 789879 ) ; 5 dd ( USNM 845460 ). — Tuamotu, Anaa, beached, Jean Tröndlé coll., La Force, 3 paratypes ( Rehder 1985: 97-100). — Austral Islands , fragments from at least two specimens ( USNM 732217 ) ; 1 dd ( USNM 732294 ) .

TYPE LOCALITY. — Oeno, Pitcairn Islands (“lagoon, northshore, in 1-6 ft. [0.3-1.8 m] on hard bottom”, Rehder 1985: 99).

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — The type material. Particularly, two paratype lots from Austral Islands: USNM 732217 , including fragments of at least two specimens (i.e. two of the fragments with the apical whorls) from the gut content of the fish Coris aygula speared at a depth of 25-30 m [80-100 ft] off the fringing reef on the N coast of Rurutu, stn w-203 [22°26’S, 151°20’W approx. coordinates] ; USNM 732294 , 1 dd, on top of reef in 15 m [50 ft], off the barrier reef on the N coast of Tubuai, stn w-200 [23°19’S 149°29W approx. coordinates] ( Fig. 3A ) .

Rimatara Is., BENTHAUS, stn DW 2015, 22°38.2’S, 152°49.5’W, 250-280 m, 1 juv dd. — Banc Président Thiers, stn DW 1932, 24°40.8’S, 146°01.5’W, 500-800 m, 1 dd. — Banc Président Thiers, stn DW 1926, 24°38.2’S, 146°00.8’W, 50-90 m, 1 dd 1 juv dd. — East cost of Rurutu, stn DW 2005, 22°28.1’S, 151°18.3’W, 680- 1800 m, 1 dd. — Stn DW 1977, Banc Arago, 23°22.3’S, 150°43.5’W, 90-95 m, 1 juv dd (with protoconch).

Tuamotu, Anaa, beached, J. Tröndlé coll., La Force, 9 dd, 1 juv dd.

DISTRIBUTION. — Southern Cooks, western Austral Islands, Society Islands, Tuamotu, and Pitcairn Group, “alive under and near corals” in 12-17 m [40-55 ft] ( Rehder 1985: 99), empty shells from Austral Islands in 15-25 m (paratypes) and 90-680 m (BENTHAUS).

REMARKS

The protoconch (tip missing) of a juvenile from Anaa (Tuamotu, J. Tröndlé coll., La Force) is of 2.8+ whorls, 700+ µm high and 720 µm wide at the base, with 2 equally strong spiral keels, sculptured by a series of subsutural prosocline threads and a series of similar threads over each keel. General shape, approximate number of whorls (c. 3) and size are confirmed by the examination of the eroded protoconch in the juvenile shell from Banc Arago (BENTHAUS stn DW 1977).

Only during the BENTHAUS dredging, were specimens of this shallow water species recovered. I have also examined the type material and can confirm the morphological homogeneity of the entire type series, including the paratypes from western Austral Islands. The records of C. latilirata from Austral Islands are congruent with the hypothesized range ( Rehder 1985: 98, fig. 4) centered in French Polynesia, yet excluding Rapa , in the southernmost Austral Islands. It is a shallow water species, thus the deepest records (BENTHAUS) are likely due to drift from shallower habitat.

Figures

FIG. 3. — A-C, Coralliophila latilirata Rehder,1985;A, paratype (USNM 732294),on top of reef in 15 m, off the barrier reef on the N coast of Tubuai [23°19’S, 149°29W approx. coordinates]; B, C, holotype (USNM 731531), Oeno, Pitcairn Islands; D-H, C. australis n. sp.; D, E, holotype (MNHN 20965), East of Tupuaki Bay, ATELIER RAPA 2002, stn 21, 27°34.2’S, 144°20.6’W, 5 m; F, G, paratype (MNHN 20967), Marotiri Is., BENTHAUS, stn DW 1879, 27°55’S, 143°30.1’W, 52 m; H, paratype (MNHN 20967), Marotiri Is., BENTHAUS, stn DW 1879, 27°55’S, 143°30.1’W, 52 m. Scale bars: A-E, 10 mm; F, G, 5 mm; H, 2 mm.