Laevistrombus guidoi Man

Maxwell, Stephen J., Dekkers, Aart M., Rymer, Tasmin L. & Congdon, Bradley C., 2019, Laevistrombus Abbott 1960 (Gastropoda: Strombidae): Indian and southwest Pacific species, Zootaxa 4555 (4), pp. 491-506 : 497-499

Laevistrombus guidoi Man in’T Veld & de Turck, 1998

Figures 5 E–F

Synonymy

1998 Strombus (Laevistrombus) guidoi Man in ‘T Veld & de Turck, p. 95. Kreipl et al. 1999, pp. 11 and 26, pl. 41, figs. 1 and 2. = Laevistrombus canarium guidoi Man in ‘T Veld & de Turck—Liverani 2014, p. 24, pl. 143, figs. 1 and 3.

Strombus (Laevistrombus) canarium Linnaeus—Cernohorsky 1972, p. 72 , pl. 18, fig. 8a.

Type material. The Holotype is held in the Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam, lot 15975.

Type locality. The type locality for L. guidoi is Port Vila , Vanuatu (Man in’T Veld & de Turck 1998) .

Original description. “Shell shape: A smooth, solid shell, heavy in comparison to its size, with up to nine whorls. A slender, relatively low to high spire. The first whorls with a radial structure. Aperture wide posteriorly, narrower anteriorly. Outer lip pointed posteriorly and much thickened. Columella much thickened from its centre to its anterior; with a thin glaze on its posterior, which covers the ventral part of the body whorl. A coloured line marks the outline of this glazed area. The columella is thickened at its extreme posterior end, forming a lip that protrudes above the suture. From this lip, the margin curves concavely upward and bends back in some specimens, into the direction of the spire. Also due to the thickened outer lip, a narrow and deep posterior canal arises. The siphonal canal is fairly long, the stromboid notch weak. Sculpture: The first seven whorls with a radial structure, subsequently becoming smoother. In a few specimens with some narrow varices on the whorl. With up to 18 radial lines on the anterior portion of the body whorl. Columella and aperture smooth. Colour: Solid white, in some specimens with a pattern of obscure yellow lines. All adult specimens, without exception with a golden-yellow, metal like gloss on the columella as well as the outer lip. The inside of columella and aperture is white. Periostracum: Unknown but probably light brown judging from faint traces” (Man in’T Veld & de Turck 1998, p. 103).

Distribution. Laevistrombus guidoi is restricted to Vanuatu ( Figure 6 ). Records: Vanuatu— Vila Bay ( Cernohorsky 1972); Port Vila (Man in ‘T Veld & de Turck 1998). Material examined from private collections: Vanuatu — No data (AMD x 6); Esprito Santo (SM x1); Efate (VC x 3); Malekula (TM x1).

Discussion. Laevistrombus guidoi is consistently white in colour, with only rare examples showing a pattern similar to the typical L. vanikorensis . The extension of the outer lip callosity and level of “metal like gloss” is highly variable and dependent on the age of the animal’s shell: older animals have greater callosity and more gloss.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Laevistrombus canarium: A) syntype, designated from lot LSL. 435, Linnaean collection (http://linneanonline.org/17229/ {A–F 0020064 specimen 1} accessed 12/02/2017); B) Keelamkarai, India, 5 m, 2015, L 58.7 mm (TM); C) Keelamkarai, India, L 59.0 mm (AMD STR2569); and D) Rameswaran, India, L 60.9 mm (AMD STR0259); Laevistrombus guidoi: E) Efate Island, Vanuatu (VC) 59 mm; and F) Vanuatu, 50–60 ft. in Rubble, 58.0 mm (AMD STR0031).

FIGURE 6. The apparent distribution (solid lines) of the three species of Laevistrombus in the southwestern Pacific based on known locations (dots) and geographical features which may affect distributions such as island chains. The type location for Laevistrombus taeniatus in the Indonesian region is also illustrated.