Coralliophila monodonta (Blainville, 1832)

Oliverio, Marco, 2008, Coralliophilinae (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) from the southwest Pacific, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 481-586 : 507-509

Coralliophila monodonta (Blainville, 1832)

Figs 30-32, 157

Synonyms:

Purpura monodonta Blainville, 1832: 241 .

Purpura monodonta Quoy & Gaimard, 1833: 561 , pl. 37[1834], figs 9-11.

Purpura madreporarum G.B. Sowerby [first of the name] in J. Sowerby & G.B. Sowerby [first of the name], 1834: pl. 237, fig. 12.

Other references:

Quoyula madreporarium [sic] - Oliver 1915: 537.

Coralliophila madreporara [sic] - Kosuge & Suzuki 1985: 35, pl. 46, fig. 7. — Bosch et al. 1995: 125, fig. 501.

Galeropsis madreporarus [sic] - Lozouet & Renard 1998: 181, figs 7/4, 5.

Coralliophila madreporaria [sic] - Tsuchiya 2000: 419, pl. 208, fig. 291.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Purpura monodonta Blainville : lectotype here selected MNHN 0713 (13.7 mm; Fig. 31) and 1 paralectotype MNHN 20578 . — Purpura madreporarum : 3 possible syntypes BMNH 1985104 .

TYPE LOCALITY. — P. monodonta Blainville : Tonga-Tabou. — P. madreporarum Sowerby G.B. [first of the name]: unknown.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Coral Sea. CORAIL 2: stn DW 94, 20°45.2’S, 165°16.3’E, intertidal, 5 dd; stn 1259, 20°44.6’S, Plateau des Chesterfield , 19°06’S, 158°50’E, 36-53 m, 1 dd; stn 165°13.7’E, 15-35 m, 5 dd; stn 1263, 20°45’S, 165°16’E, 6 DW 143, 19°37’S, 158°25’E, 45 m, 1 dd. m, 1 dd; stn 1269, 20°35.1’S, 165°08.1’E, 15-20 m, 2 dd juv; New Caledonia proper. LAGON: stn 9, Secteur de Nouméa, stn 1270, 20°45’S, 165°16.5’E, 10-35 m, 4 dd juv; stn 1271, 22°22’S, 166°19’E, 10 m, 2 lv; stn 150, Ile Ouen - Baie du 20°52.7’S, 165°19.5’E, 5-25 m, 7 dd; stn 1316, Secteur de Kou- Prony, 22°30’S, 166°50’E, 62-68 m, 1 dd; stn 159, 22°38’S, mac, 20°40’S, 164°11.2’E, 12 m, 2 dd; stn 1319, 20°44.7’E, 166°36’E, 17 m, 2 dd; stn 160, 22°36’S, 166°37’E, 10 m, 10 164°15.5’S, 15-20 m, 3 dd; stn 1331, 20°40’- 20°40.6’E, dd; stn 161, 23°34’S, 166°38’E, 20 m, 1 dd; stn 217, Baie de 164°11.2’- 164°12.1’S, 55-57 m, 2 dd juv .

St Vincent, 21°53’S, 165°47’E, 16 m, 1 dd; stn 257, 22°22’S, Loyalty Islands. Lifou. LIFOU 2000: stn 1410, Baie du San- 166°20’E, 9 m, 1 dd; stn 281, 22°24’S, 166°24’E, 10 m, 1 dd; tal, 20°56.78’S, 167°03.1’E, 2-4 m, 15 dd; stn 1413, 20°55.3’S, stn 304, Grand Récif Sud , 22°40’S, 166°48’E, 27 m, 1 dd; stn 167°05’E, 3-10 m, 1 dd juv; stn 1415, 20°47.1’S, 167°09.1’E, 3-7 1190, Secteur des Belep , 19°34’S, 163°31’E, 40 m, 1 lv, 1 dd. m, 1 dd juv; stn 1419, 20°55.6’S, 167°04.5’E, 5 m, 1 dd; stn 1420, — EXPÉDITION MONTROUZIER: stn 1245, Secteur de Touho , 20°47.7’S, 167°09.35’E, 4-5 m, 6 dd juv; stn 1421, 20°52.4’S, 167°08.5’E, 4 m, 2 dd; stn 1422, 20°52.4’S, 167°08.5’E, 4 m, 167°09.7’E, 36-40 m, 1 dd; stn 1448, 20°45.8’S, 167°01.65’E, 20 7 dd; stn 1423, 20°54’S, 167°07.3’E, 12 m, 1 dd, 7 dd juv; stn m, 4 dd; stn 1450, 20°45.8’S, 167°01.65’E, 27-31 m, 4 dd; stn 1424, 20°54.9’S, 167°03’E, 4 m, 1 lv (Fig. 30), 2 dd juv; stn 1425, 1451, 20°47.3’S, 167°06.8’E, 10-21 m, 1 dd, 2 dd juv (Figs 32, 20°46.8’S, 167°07.2’E, 4-5 m, 2 dd, 4 dd juv; stn 1426, 20°45.9’S, 157); stn 1454, 20°56.65’S, 167°02.2’E, 15-18 m, 1 dd juv; stn 167°06.2’E, 4-7 m, 3 dd juv; stn 1427, 20°47.6’S, 167°10.2’E, 10 1455, 20°56.08’S, 167°02.7’E, 15-20 m, 3 dd; stn 1456, 20°49.3’S, m, 1 dd; stn 1429, 20°47.5’S, 167°07.1’E, 8-18 m, 2 dd, 4 dd juv; 167°10.4’E, 25-30 m, 2 dd juv; stn 1457, 20°46.8’S, 167°02.75’E, stn 1430, 20°47.5’S, 167°07.1’E, 20-25 m, 1 dd juv; stn 1432, 5- 10 m, 8 dd juv; stn 1458, 20°46.7’S, 167°03.1’E, 17-24 m, 1 20°53.5’S, 167°02.7’E, 12-32 m, 3 dd juv; stn 1434, 20°52.5’S, dd; stn 1464, 20°54.05’S, 167°05.9’E, 35-50 m, 1 dd; stn 1465, 167°08.1’E, 5-20m, 2 dd, 9 ddjuv;stn 1435, 20°55.2’S, 167°00.7’E, 20°47.7’S, 167°07’E, 35-45 m, 9 dd juv . — MUSORSTOM 6: stn 5-30 m, 1 dd, 3 dd juv; stn 1436, 20°55.5’S, 167°04.2’E, 10-20 m, DW 431, 20°22’S, 166°10’E, 21 m, 1 dd.

7 dd juv; stn 1442, 20°46.4’S, 167°02’E, 47 m, 2 dd juv; stn 1443, Wallis and Futuna. MUSORSTOM 7: stn DW 494, Futuna Is., 20°53.8’S, 167°07.3’E, 48-52 m, 1 dd juv; stn 1446, 20°50.8’S, 14°19’S, 178°03’W, 100-110 m, 1 dd.

DISTRIBUTION. — The Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, from East Africa to Indonesia, including eastern Arabia “in corals” ( Bosch et al. 1995). Throughout the tropical Pacific Ocean ( Cernohorsky 1972), including Hawaii ( Kay 1979) and Easter Island (Rehder 1980), extending in the eastern Pacific to the Galapagos Islands (Finet 1994) and the American west coast (Keen 1971). New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands and Loyalty Ridge, live in 4-40 m, empty shells intertidal to 62 m; Futuna Island, an empty shell in 100-110 m, probably drifted from shallower habitat.

REMARKS. — The valid name for this species is difficult to establish because of problems of dating the names Purpura madreporarum and Purpura monodonta .

The name Purpura madreporarum (the specific epithet “ madreporarum ” is the plural genitive of the feminine noun “ madrepora –ae ”, not declined to agree with the generic name), was published by the Sowerbys in the Genera of Recent and fossil shells, which was issued in parts, of which the dates of publication are difficult to ascertain. Purpura is in part of volume 2 part 42, which is dated “1834?” by Richard Petit (pers. com.).

The name Purpura monodonta is generally attributed to Quoy & Gaimard, who published a description (p. 561) and illustration (pl. 37, figs 9-11); the mollusc part in the volume of the Voyage de l’Astrolabe (pp. 321-661) containing the description was considered by Sherborn as published in 1833. However, Blainville (1832: 241) published a description of Purpura monodonta and referred to “Quoy et Gaymard. Astrolabe. Zool. Pl. 37, f. 9-21 [sic]”. This publication by Blainville is contained in an issue of Annales des Sciences Naturelles, which was then regularly issued, and there is no reason to doubt the 1832 date. Thus, I believe that Blainville referred to an unpublished, and probably even unfinished, plate. Under Purpura ascensionis, Blainville (1832: 242) refered to “Quoy et Gaymard. Astrolabe. Zoologie. (non fig.)”, whereas in fact Purpura ascensionis is illustrated on the very same plate (Quoy & Gaimard 1833: pl. 37, figs 20-23). Furthermore, the plates of Quoy & Gaimard’s work were evidently published not before 30 December 1834 (advice by Quoy & Gaimard to consult the legends in volume 3, is reported with this date). Finally, Blainville did not give page numbers for Quoy & Gaimard’s descriptions, while he referred to other works with complete page references. Therefore, it is likely that Blainville had access to Quoy & Gaimard’s manuscripts - and possibly also the specimens – before the publication of the Voyage de l’Astrolabe, and the name Purpura monodonta is to be dated from 1832 (Blainville 1832: 241). With the evidence available, I conclude that the valid name of the species is Purpura monodonta . Blainville’s description is clearly original, and not copied from Quoy & Gaymard, so under the Code (ICZN 1999: Article 50.1), Blainville is the author of the name. Blainville referred to a figure by Quoy & Gaimard and to one specimen in the MNHN collection, and gave a dimension of 7 lines [= 15.75 mm]. Quoy & Gaimard gave 6 lines [= 13.5 mm] and their illustration is 14 mm high. Quoy & Gaimard did not specify the number of specimens available to them, but their description (“[the canal] is rounded or salient, the mouth is completely white or tainted with purple on the columella”) indicated that they had more than one. There are 2 specimens from the Astrolabe expedition in MNHN. One is 12.5 mm high and has a distinctly tainted columella; the other is 13.7 mm high and has a white columella, although possibly faded with time. The latter specimen is here selected as the lectotype of Purpura monodonta Blainville, 1832 .

This is the type species of the genus Quoyula Iredale, 1912 . It is here conservatively included in Coralliophila s.l.

Larval shell characters somewhat variable. Protoconch of 3.8-4.0 conical whorls, 650-690 Μm high and 700-720 Μm wide at the base. Protoconch-I of about 1 whorl, sculptured with pustules over the entire surface. Protoconch-II of about 2.8-3.0 whorls, with a diffuse pustulation, and with 2 spiral keels on the last 1.2-1.6 whorls. Axial sculpture of a series of subsutural prosocline oblong tubercles and a series of similar tubercles over each keel. Spiral sculpture of one subsutural threadlet and one suprasutural cordlet, and several intermediate threadlets particularly evident over the tubercles, resulting from the fusion of the diffused pustules. Postmetamorphic juveniles are more turriculate than adults, and start with spiral sculpture of 8 nodulose cords that tend to increase in number progressively as well as to disappear with growth. It lives on Pocillopora -like corals. Feeding activity was described by Guzmán (1988).