Favartia maculata (Reeve, 1845)

Houart, Roland & Héros, Virginie, 2008, Muricidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Fiji and Tonga, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 437-480 : 455-456

Favartia maculata (Reeve, 1845)

Murex maculatus Reeve, 1845 : pl. 33, fig. 136.

Synonyms:

Murex (Ocinebra) salmonea Melvill & Standen, 1899: 162 , pl. 10, fig. 2.

Favartia dorothyae Emerson & D’Attilio, 1979: 5 , figs 3, 4, 15, 16.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Tonga. BORDAU 2: stn DW 1569, 21°02’S, 175°19’W, 433 m, 1 dd (damaged) .

DISTRIBUTION. — Indo-West Pacific. New record for Tonga.

REMARKS. — Three names are commonly used for this species: Favartia maculata (Reeve, 1845) for specimens from the western Indian Ocean, F. salmonea for those from Australia and F. dorothyae for those from the Philippines. Many specimens, including the type material have been studied by the senior author from throughout its geographical range. No noticeable morphological differences have been noted between the different forms (protoconchs studied only for F. maculata and F. dorothyae forms). In the absence of further studies showing important differences in the protoconch morphology of F. salmonea , we consider all these names as synonyms. F. maculata has not previously been reported from Tonga.