Voluta daedalea Lichtenstein, 1794

Geiger, Daniel L., 2022, Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein’s (1794) Catalogus Rerum Naturalium Rarissimarum, pars secunda. Facsimile edition and annotated translation, Zootaxa 5127 (1), pp. 1-126 : 116

Voluta daedalea Lichtenstein, 1794

In the 18 th century, the generic concept of Voluta included several major gastropod groups, notably Volutidae , Costellariidae , and Mitridae ( Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda). The species is described between a section on Vexillum spp. ( Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda: Costellariidae ) and one on Mitra spp. ( Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda: Mitridae ) ( Table 1). Accordingly, the species is most likely found in either of these two families and not in Volutidae ( Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda), which is further supported by the description of strong color bands characteristic for Costellariidae and Mitridae , but rather uncommon in Volutidae . The species seems to be a Vexillum . In this genus many species show the described sequence of a broad orange/brown band, followed by a narrow black one, then by a white one at the level of the shoulder, and additional red/orange/brown bands: e.g., Vexilum plicarium ( Linnaeus, 1758) , V. taeniatum Lamarck, 1811 , V. citrinum (Gmelin, 1791) . The description of the shell as “folded” may refer to the axial folds on many species of Vexillum . The dimensions of 2 1/ 2 inches long and 1/ 2 inch wide also agree with such a general identification, yet the species cannot be determined without the actual specimen. Voluta daedalea remains, however, a nomen dubium.