Zonites coma Gray, 1843

Brook, Fred J. & Ablett, Jonathan D., 2019, Type material of land snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) described from New Zealand by taxonomists in Europe and North America between 1830 and 1934, and the history of research on the New Zealand land snail fauna from 1824 to 1917, Zootaxa 4697 (1), pp. 1-117 : 36

Zonites coma Gray, 1843

Pl. 4, fig. A

Gray [in Dieffenbach], 1843b. Catalogue of the species of Mollusca. In: Travels in New Zealand, 2: 263.

Type material: Lectotype (here designated), NHMUK 1842.11.5.141; paralectotypes (2), NHMUK 1842.11.5.142– 143 (dry shell material).

Label details: ‘ N. Zealand, Dr. A. Sinclair’

Type locality: ‘New Zealand’ (Gray [in Dieffenbach] 1843b: 263).

Previous illustrations of type material: Smith (1874: pl. 1, fig. 3). A shell illustrated by Pfeiffer (1853 [in Pfeiffer 1852–1860]: pl. 155, figs. 37–39) may be from the type series. Shells of Helix coma illustrated by Reeve (1852 [in 1851–1854]: pl. 130, fig. 796, pl. 131, fig. 800) were from the Cuming collection, and there is no evidence to indicate that they were from the type series.

Remarks: The original description of this species, which was reproduced by Gray (1844: 454), was based on material obtained by Dr. Andrew Sinclair on a trip to New Zealand in 1841–1842 and presented to the British Museum. The type series consists of a mixed lot of three specimens that were all listed as ‘ Zonites coma ’ in the NHMUK accessions register for Mollusca, with the registration numbers 1842.11.5.141–143. The specimen illustrated in pl. 4, fig. A, which matches Gray’s original description of coma , and corresponds to New Zealand workers’ interpretation of this species (e.g., Suter 1913b: 705, pl. 27, figs. 20, a, b; Climo 1970a: 294, figs. 11 L, 19 C, E, pl. 2, figs. A, C; Powell 1979: 303, pl. 57, fig. 9), is designated here as the lectotype of Zonites coma Gray, 1843 . The other two specimens in the type lot include a badly-damaged shell that appears to be Charopa montivaga Suter, 1894 (NHMUK 1842.11.5.142), and a well-preserved shell of Chaureopa titirangiensis (Suter, 1896) (NHMUK 1842.11.5.143). There is no information in the original description of Zonites coma , on the labels of the type lot, or in the accessions register, as to where in New Zealand Sinclair collected the type material. Of the localities that he visited in 1841–1842 (see Introduction for itinerary), the lectotype of Zonites coma most closely matches shells in populations from the vicinity of Auckland, and Auckland is here nominated as the type locality for this species. The two paralectotypes may also have been collected in or around Auckland. Charopa montivaga is widely distributed throughout the North Island from Auckland south, and Chaureopa titirangiensis is distributed throughout the northern North Island ( Climo 1985; AIM and NMNZ collection records). Zonites coma Gray, 1843 is the type species of Charopa [Albers MS.] Martens, 1860, by original designation.

Current Taxonomy: Listed as Charopa coma (Gray, 1843) by Hedley & Suter (1893: 653), Iredale (1915: 481), Climo (1970a: 295), Powell (1979: 303) and Spencer et al. (2009: 215).

Distribution: New Zealand; currently interpreted as having a wide distribution in North, South and Stewart islands (e.g., Suter 1913b: 706; Climo 1970a: 295; Powell 1979: 303), but preliminary results of a phylogenetic study (M. Kennedy & F. Brook unpub. data) indicate that this refers to a species complex, and the identity and distribution of Gray’s species need to be re-evaluated. Historical records from Australia (e.g., by Pfeiffer 1859: 94; Hector 1873: 12) were in error (see Hedley & Suter 1893: 616).