Coralliophila violacea (Kiener, 1836)

Oliverio, Marco, 2008, Coralliophilinae (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) from the southwest Pacific, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 481-586 : 486-487

Coralliophila violacea (Kiener, 1836)

Figs 1, 145, 206, 207

“ Murex neritoideus ” Chemnitz, 1788: 280 , pl. 165, figs 1577, 1578 (non-binominal).

Murex neritoideus Gmelin, 1791: 3559 (non Linné, 1767).

Fusus neritoideus Lamarck, 1816 : pl. 435, figs 2a, b.

Purpura violacea Kiener, 1836: 77 , pl. 19, fig. 57.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Murex neritoideus Gmelin , Chemnitz’s (1788) figured specimen. The originally figured specimen has not been found either in ZMUC (Ole Tendal, pers. comm.) or in ZIN ( Martynov 2002). — Pyrula neritoidea Lamarck, 1822 is in my opinion the same as Fusus neritoideus Lamarck, 1816 , and both are in turn new combinations for Murex neritoideus Gmelin, 1791 . Thus, the 2 specimens of Pyrula neritoidea in MHNG ( MHNG 1098/70/1 and /2), out of the 5 originally present (according to handwritten notes by Lamarck’s daughter, Rosalie: Y. Finet, pers. comm.) are not deemed to have type status. The 2 specimens are compatible with the original size of “18 lignes” (Lamarck 1816: 435), i.e. about 4 cm ( MHNG 1098/70/1, 39.4 mm (Fig. 207), possibly the one figured by Kiener; MHNG 1098/70/2, 37.2 mm, actually a specimen of C. radula Adams ). The locality indicated on the subsequent label (no original label of Lamarck is preserved) reads “Océanie”.

TYPE LOCALITY. — P. violacea Kiener : Nicobar Islands, “an den Stranden der Nicobarischen Enlande” (Chemnitz 1788: 280).

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Coral Sea. CORAIL 2: stn CP 90, la Thiem, 20°45.2’S, 165°08’E, 9-11 m, 2 dd; stn 1271, Secteur Plateau des Chesterfield , 19°03’S, 158°56’E, 44-48 m, 2 dd; stn de Touho, 20°52.7’S, 165°19.5’E, 5-25 m, 1 dd .

DW 128, 19°28’S, 158°30’E, 38 m, 1 dd; stn DW 163, 19°41’S, Loyalty Islands. Lifou. LIFOU 2000: stn 1417, Baie du San- 158°16’E, 23 m, 1 dd. tal, 20°49.9’S, 167°08.3’E, 1-4 m, 9 lv; stn 1418, 20°46.9’S, New Caledonia proper. LAGON: stn 79, Ile Ouen, Baie du Pro- 167°07.9’E, 1-5 m, 4 lv (Figs 1, 206); stn 1420, 20°47.7’S, ny, 22°29’S, 166°29’E, 16 m, 1 dd; stn 82, 22°33’S, 166°29’E, 167°09.35’E, 4-5 m, 3 dd juv; stn 1424, 20°54.9’S, 167°03’E, 10 m, 1 dd; stn 101bis, 22°31’S, 166°36’E, 18 m, 1 dd; stn 4 m, 1 dd; stn 1425, 20°46.8’S, 167°07.2’E, 4-5 m, 1 dd; stn 160, 22°36’S, 166°37’E, 10 m, 1 dd; stn 425, Grand Récif sud, 1429, 20°47.5’S, 167°07.1’E, 8-18 m, 2 dd; stn 1431, 20°47.5’S, 22°44’S, 167°22’E, 51 m, 1 dd; stn 426, 22°43’S, 167°20’E, 167°07.1’E, 18-35 m, 2 lv; stn 1434, 20°52.5’S, 167°08.1’E, 5- 53 m, 1 dd; stn 459, Atoll de Surprise, 18°26’S, 163°0l’E, 40 20 m, 1 dd juv; stn 1436, 20°55.5’S, 167°04.2’E, 10-20 m, 1 m, 1 dd; stn 583, Ile des Pins, 22°45’S, 167°29’E, 44 m, 1 dd; dd; stn 1439, 20°47.7’S, 167°09.35’E, 5-30 m, 4 lv; stn 1440, stn 612, Secteur de Yaté, 22°09’S, 167°01’E, 46-48 m, 1 dd; 20°47.2’S, 167°08.6’E, 15-35 m, 4 lv; stn 1451, 20°47.3’S, stn 616, 22°06’S, 166°59’E, 34-38 m, 1 dd; stn 651, Secteur 167°06.8’E, 10-21 m, 1 dd juv (Fig. 145); stn 1452, 20°54.6’S, de Thio, 21°48’S, 166°36’E, 48 m, 1 dd; stn 657, 21°48’S, 167°02.1’E, 2-25 m, 1 dd; stn 1454, 20°56.65’S, 167°02.2’E, 166°34’E, 40-42 m, 1 dd; stn 662, 21°44’S, 166°32’E, 50 m, 1 15-18 m, 3 lv; stn 1456, 20°49.3’S, 167°10.4’E, 25-30 m, 6 lv; dd; stn 671, 21°38’S, 166°26’E, 36-39 m, 1 dd; stn 853, Grand stn 1457, 20°46.8’S, 167°02.75’E, 5-10 m, 1 lv.

Récif Mangalia , 20°41’S, 165°07’E, 27 m, 1 dd . — EXPÉDITION Additional material: many lots (lv and dd) from Red Sea, So- MONTROUZIER: stn 1254, Secteur de Touho, 20°46.1’S, cotra Is., Madagascar, Celebes ( Indonesia), Philippines, Cook 165°14.6’E, 7 m, 11 dd; stn 1268, Secteur de Touho , parages de Islands, in MO .

DISTRIBUTION. — The entire Indo-Pacific. From the Red Sea, the western Indian Ocean, eastern Arabia “among corals” ( Bosch et al. 1995) through the tropical Indian Ocean. Pacific Ocean, from Izu Islands southward to tropical Indo-Pacific, subtidal associated with Porites (Tsuchiya 2000; as C. neritoides [sic]), “firmly attached to the underside of coral rocks” ( Cernohorsky 1972). The tropical eastern Pacific, Panamic province to Ecuador (Keen 1971). From the Coral Sea, New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands, live in 4-25 m, empty shells down to 53 m.

REMARKS. — Coraliophilla violacea is one of the best studied coralliophiline species (e.g. Chen & Soong 2002; Chen, Yang & Soong 1998; Lin & Liu 1995; Soong & Cheng 1991). It is almost invariably associated with Porites scleractinians. Protoconch of 3.2 conical whorls, 590 Μm high, 600 Μm wide at the base. Protoconch-I of about 1 whorl, sculptured with pustules over the entire surface. Protoconch-II of about 2.2 whorls, with 2 spiral keels (the abapical starting on the second protoconch whorl, the adapical starting on the third), sculptured by a series of subsutural prosocline threads and a series of oblong tubercles over each keel; a diffuse granulation is present in the interspaces.

The nomenclatural history of this species was summarized clearly by Cernohorsky (1985). Murex neritoideus Gmelin, 1791 is not valid, being a junior primary homonym of Murex neritoideus Linné, 1767 (a thaidine species, possibly a synonym of Thais nodosa ( Linné, 1758) [ Nerita ]). Fusus neritoideus Lamarck, 1816 is evidently a new combination for Murex neritoideus Gmelin. Lamarck (1822: 146) clearly referred Pyrula neritoidea to Gmelin’s taxon; this is an indication that his 1816 Fusus neritoideus was simply a re-assignment of Gmelin’s Murex to the genus Fusus (if Fusus neritoideus Lamarck, 1816 was an independent introduction of a new species, then it would be invalid, as a secondary homonym of Murex neritoideus Gmelin ). Finally, Kiener (1836), evidently recognising “Lamarck’s homonymous usage of neritoideus ... proposed the replacement name Purpura violacea ” ( Cernohorsky 1985: 53) . Under these circumstances, the only remaining problem concerns the type locality designation. Rehder (1980) designated “ New Caledonia ” as type locality of P. violacea Kiener (who possibly figured one of Lamarck’s shells, from “Océanie”). Cernohorsky (1985: 53) designated Port Dorey as type locality, “being the centre of the species distributional range”. I agree that Purpura violacea Kiener is to be considered as a replacement name, and therefore its name-bearing type is the same as F. neritoideus Lamarck and M. neritoideus Gmelin , i.e., Chemnitz’s figured shell (ICZN 1999: Article 72.7); the same holds for the type locality, which is permanently linked to the name-bearing type (s) (ICZN 1999: Article 76), from the Nicobar Islands. Chemnitz’s figured shell might yet be discovered in St. Petersburg, where the Chemnitz collection requires detailed investigation.