Austroneaera eastera, Raines & Huber, 2012

Raines, Bret & Huber, Markus, 2012, 3217, Zootaxa 3217, pp. 1-106 : 92

Austroneaera eastera sp. nov.

Figures 47 A–H

Type Material. Holotype: LACM 3186, 1 live taken specimen, 2.9 mm. Paratypes 1–4: LACM 3187, 1 live taken specimen, 3.1 mm, 3 single valves. Paratypes 5–7: Coll. BR, 3 single valves, 2.8–4.2 mm. Paratypes 8–10: Coll. MHU, 3 single valves, 2.3–4.7 mm. All specimens from the type locality.

Type Locality. Dredged at 50–200 m in fine sandy and mud, off the western coastline near Tahai , Easter Island, 27°07’20” S, 109°26’30” W, live taken at 200 m.

Description. A small, translucent white Austroneaera species , with a weak rostrum. Shell small (less than 5 mm in length), thin, fragile, ovate-triangular, inflated, with a somewhat truncate, weakly developed posterior rostrum. Umbones raised slightly above dorsal line and centrally located. Prodissoconch, P1 ovate, smooth, well defined with pronounced ridge, ca. 167 µm length by 140 µm height, P2 not present. Anterior margin of adult valves rounded, posterior margin more or less straight. Exterior surface sculpture variable, ranging from smooth with weak commarginal growth striae to pronounced undulations; ridge separating the rostrum. Interior smooth. Hinge with two wide posterior and anterior lateral teeth in the RV, and an edentulous LV. Color translucent white.

Comparative diagnosis. The hinge configuration closely resembles that of the type species A. brevirostris Powell, 1937 . Specifically, none of the nine global species of Austroneaera matches the EI material.

Remarks. Nothing similar is known from the Hawaiian Islands, but this genus is represented with many species in New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands. From the known habitats of its congeners, A. eastera may be expected to range much deeper than only 200 m.

Distribution. At present Austroneaera eastera is only known from Easter Island— E1.

Etymology. The name reflects the type locality.