Bullina rubropunctata, Valdés, 2008

Valdés, Ángel, 2008, Deep-sea “ cephalaspidean ” heterobranchs (Gastropoda) from the tropical southwest Pacific, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 587-792 : 644

Bullina rubropunctata n. sp.

Figs 26A-C, 27

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype MNHN 20332 and 4 paratypes MNHN 20333-20336, 1 paratype LACM 2988 .

TYPE LOCALITY . — Centre of Ha‘apai Islands, Tonga, 20°50’S, 174°57’W, 200-487 m [ BORDAU 2 : stn DW 1601 ] .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — North of New Caledonia. BATHUS Loyalty Ridge. MUSORSTOM 6: stn DW 459 , 21°01’S, 167°31’E, 4: stn DW 927 , Grand Passage, 18°56’S, 163°22’E, 444-452 m, 1 425 m, 1 dd, paratype ( MNHN 20335 ) .

dd, paratype ( LACM 2988 ) . — PALEO-SURPRISE: stn DW 1391 , Tonga. BORDAU 2 : stn DW 1567 , NW of Tongatapu, 21°02’S, 18°30’S, 163°03’E, 365 m, 1 dd, paratype ( MNHN 20333 ; Figs 175°19’W, 351-356 m, 1 dd, paratype ( MNHN 20336 ); stn DW 26 B, C). 1601, centre of Ha‘apai Islands , 20°50’S, 174°57’W, 200-487 m, New Caledonia proper. VAUBAN: stn 40, 22°30’S, 166°24’E, 1 dd, holotype ( MNHN 20332 ; Fig. 26A) .

250-350 m, 1 dd, paratype (MNHN 20334).

DISTRIBUTION. — Material herein collected in New Caledonia and Tonga (Fig. 27), in 350-444 m.

DESCRIPTION. — Shell morphology. Length 8 mm, width 5 mm (holotype). Shell fragile, oval to elongate (Fig. 26A). The widest region of the shell is near the centre. Body whorl large; spire short, rounded, with 2 whorls. Suture channeled. Protoconch globose, about 1.2 whorls and 500 Μm in diameter (Fig. 26B). Aperture wide anteriorly, narrowing abruptly posteriorly. Outer lip joining the body whorl at 1/2 the shell length. Columella slightly twisted on the anterior end. Umbilicus closed. Sculpture of numerous spiral grooves, composed of series of oval punctuations (Fig. 26C). The punctuations are fused to each other within each groove. The grooves are separated by gaps narrower than the grooves themselves. Colour white, with 2 rows of wide red spots that divide the body whorl into 3 regions, the middle one being twice the width of the outer two. There are no axial lines. Columellar lip uniformly white.

Anatomy. Unknown. All shells collected lacked soft parts.

REMARKS. — Bullina rubropunctata is clearly distinguishable from other species of the genus by having 2 rows of thick red spots on the body whorl. Rudman (1971b) reviewed and illustrated the species of Bullina from New Zealand including several widespread Indo-Pacific taxa, and more recently Hori (2000d) illustrated the species reported from Japan. None of the previously described species of the genus have rows of spots rather than continuous spiral lines.

Unfortunately, no specimens complete with soft parts were available for examination of the anatomy and radular morphology, but the shell colouration is distinctive enough to support the introduction of a new species.

ETYMOLOGY. — The name refers to the thick red spots on the shell, which are the most distinctive characteristic of this species.