Triphora spica Verco, 1909

Albano, Paolo G., Bakker, Piet A. J. & Sabelli, Bruno, 2019, Annotated catalogue of the types of Triphoridae (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom, London, Zoosystematics and Evolution 95 (1), pp. 161-308 : 161

Triphora spica Verco, 1909

Figure 111

Triphora spica Verco 1909: 281, pl. XXIII, fig. 1.

Type locality.

"off Beachport" (South Australia).

Type material.

Lectotype: SAM D. 13453 (fide Marshall 1983; not seen, see Remarks). Paralectotypes: NHMUK 1910.3.29.54-55: 2 specimens, Cape Borda, Kangaroo Island, South Australia .

Original description.

Shell solid, long, narrow, upper third elongate-conical, the rest nearly cylindrical. Protoconch of 5 whorls, convex, with two central closely approximate spiral threads and numerous axial bars. Spire-whorls 17, the first three with two nodulate spiral ribs, and an infra-sutural small, smooth cord. In the fourth whorl this becomes nodulate; and getting thicker equals the other spirals in the sixth whorl. Between the twelfth and thirteenth whorls a supra-sutural thin threadlet appears and gradually enlarges and grows subnodular. The nodules in a spiral row on the penultimate are 17, transversely elliptical, and are joined spirally by a bar about one-third of their width, and vertically by obsolete bars nearly their own width. The body-whorl has three spiral ribs, a subnodulated peripheral riblet, a distinct smooth, stout, basal spiral, and an obsolete one at the base of the canal. The lip is broken. Colour, lightbrown, with axial streaks of darker-brown from suture to suture; sometimes these happen to be continuous over two or more whorls, sometimes not; the protoconch is of darker brown.

Dim.- Length, 97 mm; breadth, 1.55 mm; length of protoconch, 0.55 mm.

Locality.- Type, 40 fathoms off Beachport, with 4 others; 55 fathoms off Cape Borda, 10 good, many poor; 62 fathoms off Cape Borda, 1 poor; Gulf St. Vincent, under 25 fathoms, 7 poor. The habitat would appear to be in 40 to 50 fathoms.

Diagnosis.- From T. kesteveni, Hedley, it differs in its nodulated spirals and in its colour.

Remarks.

In the original description, Verco referred to multiple specimens in the type series. Marshall’s (1983) report of the “holotype” in the SAM should be considered a lectotype designation according to Article 74.6 of the Code ( ICZN 1999). The label accompanying this lot reports Cape Borda as the locality, as listed in the original description, and the wording “Co-types”, which suggests that these specimens indeed belong to the type series. Because of Marshall’s lectotype designation, these and all other syntypes are now paralectotypes.

Figures

Figure 111. Triphora spica Verco, 1909, Cape Borda, South Australia. A Original figure. B-H Paralectotype, NHMUK 1910.3.29.54: front (B, C), side (D, E), back (F), aperture (G), peristome (H). I-K: Paralectotype, NHMUK 1910.3.29.55: front (I), side (J), back (K). L Original labels. Scale bars: B-F, I-K: 1 mm; G, H: 0.5 mm.