Pazinotus Vokes, 1970

Houart, Roland & Héros, Virginie, 2012, New species of Muricidae (Gastropoda) and additional or noteworthy records from the western Pacific, Zoosystema 34 (1), pp. 21-37 : 27

Genus Pazinotus Vokes, 1970

TYPE SPECIES (by original designation). — Eupleura stimpsonii Dall, 1889 , Recent, western Atlantic.

Pazinotus brevisplendoris ( Houart, 1985) ( Fig. 2J)

Poirieria (Pazinotus) brevisplendoris Houart, 1985: 163 , figs 6, 6B.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype (dd) MNHN 1040 .

NEW MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Solomon Islands (new record). SALOMON 1: stn DW1758, 8°49’S, 159°52’E, 180-187 m, 1 dd ( MNHN).

TYPE LOCALITY. — Northeastern Madagascar, 20°51’S, 55°36’E, 290-300 m [ MD 32 REUNION: stn CP129].

DISTRIBUTION. — Mozambique, northeastern Madagascar and Solomon Islands, bathymetric range unknown for living specimens, empty shells in 187- 290 m.

REMARKS

Pazinotus brevisplendoris was described from Mozambique and had not been recorded subsequently from any other locality. The specimen collected in the Solomon Islands was an empty shell, weakly damaged and faded, of a light tan colour. The colour of P. brevisplendoris from Mozambique is reddish-brown or light pink. Pazinotus brevisplendoris differs from P. smithi (Schepman, 1911) , known only from the holotype collected in the Philippines, in having a last teleoconch whorl that is broader compared to the early whorls than in P. smithi , in having less adapically recurved shoulder spines and in having a different spiral cord morphology, narrower primary cords and a less smooth shell with secondary spiral cords or numerous striae vs smooth in P. smithi . The primary spiral sculpture in P. smithi consists of smooth, low and broad P1-P6 only vs P1, P2, (S2), P3, P4, P5, s5, P6, ADP in P. brevisplendoris with more closely spaced but relatively narrower P5, P6 and ADP.