Therasia valeria Hutton, 1883

Brook, Fred J., Kennedy, Martyn, King, Tania M., Ridden, Johnathon, Shaw, Matthew D. & Spencer, Hamish G., 2020, Catalogue of New Zealand land, freshwater and estuarine molluscan taxa named by Frederick Wollaston Hutton between 1879 and 1904, Zootaxa 4865 (1), pp. 1-73 : 39

Therasia valeria Hutton, 1883

Pl. 4, fig. H

Hutton, 1883. The New Zealand Journal of Science, 1: 477.

Type material. Lectotype (designated here), CMNZ M12779 [ex M261], and paralectotype (1), CMNZ M261 (dry shells). The molluscan collection at CMNZ has radulae and a jaw mounted on glass slides with the label details ‘ Therasia valeria, Dunedin, XIV p. 151 (hypopolia)’, in Hutton’s handwriting (i.e., CMNZ 2017.17.67–2017.17.68), which is probably primary type material (see Hutton 1884b: 183).

Label details. M261—‘47. Therasia valeria Hutton , Dunedin’, pillbox label in Hutton’s handwriting.

Type locality. ‘Dunedin (Hutton)’ ( Hutton 1883g: 477, 1884b: 183).

Previous illustrations of type material. Radula illustrated by Hutton (1882h: pl. 3, fig. B, pl. 4, fig. H), which was incorrectly identified as Patula hypopolia Pfeiffer (see Hutton 1884b: 183), possibly from the type material of Therasia valeria Hutton, 1883 ; radula illustrated by Hutton (1884b: pl. 9, fig. N) probably from type material; Pilsbry (1892 [in 1892–1893]: 70, pl. 22, figs. 46–48—‘drawn by Mr. Suter from Prof. Hutton’s type’); Suter (1913: pl. 9, figs. 8, a, b—probably the same specimen as illustrated by Pilsbry).

Remarks. The type material of Therasia valeria was collected by Hutton himself. He submitted a description of this species to the Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute issue for 1883, but publication was delayed until May 1884 ( Hutton 1884b: 183), and was pre-empted by a brief description in an account of a meeting of the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury ( Hutton 1883g: 477). The lectotype is a juvenile shell that closely matches the dimensions given by Hutton (1884b: 183), and it appears to be the same specimen that was illustrated by Pilsbry (1892 [in 1892–1893]: pl. 22, figs. 46–48). There has been confusion over the identity and distribution of T. valeria . This species was incorrectly identified as Patula hypopolia Pfeiffer by Hutton (1882h: 151 —see Hutton 1884b: 183); recorded as T. valeria from Dunedin only by Hutton (1884b: 183, Hutton 1884c: 202); and from Dunedin and mid Canterbury by Hedley & Suter (1893: 640), Suter (1894b: 246, 1913: 663) and Powell (1979: 317). Preliminary results of a phylogenetic study, and examination of museum collections, indicate that T. valeria has a distribution restricted to eastern Otago (M. Kennedy unpub. data).

Current taxonomy. Therasia valeria Hutton, 1883 — Hutton (1884c: 202), Hedley & Suter, (1893: 640), Suter (1913: 662), Powell (1979: 317), Spencer et al. (2009: 216).

Distribution. New Zealand; eastern Otago, South Island (AIM and NMNZ collection records).

Family PUNCTIDAE Morse, 1864