Taxonomic review of tropical western Atlantic shallow water Drilliidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Conoidea) including descriptions of 100 new species
Author
Fallon, Phillip J.
text
Zootaxa
2016
4090
1
1
363
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4090.1.1
e6b35f5a-435e-4473-b29e-1e4d842f84b0
1175-5326
263299
203BAC25-B542-48FE-B5AD-EBA8C0285833
Splendrillia masinoi
,
new species
(
Plate 156
)
Type
material.
Holotype
11.5 x
4.5 mm
, R. Masino! (USNM 1291362); 2
paratypes
from the
type
locality: 6.6 x 3.1 & 6.5 x 3.0 mm juveniles (USNM 1291363).
Type
locality.
0.4 km
WNW off Santa Martha Beach,
Curaçao
,
Netherlands Antilles
, in
34 m
.
Range and habitat.
Known only from the
type
locality.
Description.
Shell
small (to
11.5 mm
in total length), fusiform, truncated anteriorly, of 9 angular whorls with sloping shoulders; last whorl approximately 57% of total shell length. Predominant sculpture is axial ribs; aperture oval, anterior canal short.
Protoconch
of 2 smooth, round whorls, the first not immersed in the second.
Axial sculpture
of strong ribs that run from suture-to-suture, to anterior fasciole on last whorl, lower, narrower and slightly recurved on shoulders; rib crests are narrower on shoulder, broader on whorl periphery; spaces between ribs about as wide as the ribs. 8–11 ribs on the penultimate whorl. Strong growth striae run obliquely over the ribs, are recurved on the whorl’s shoulder.
Spiral sculpture
of 6 spiral ridges on the anterior fasciole; except for growth striae, shell surface otherwise rather smooth as seen under a dissecting microscope. However, SEM images at 1,000x reveal a pattern of punctae arranged in rows, some regularly spaced, some not so (see Pl. 140, Figs. 5–6). The occasional row of joined punctae seen in other
Splendrillia
was not observed on the examined specimen.
Sulcus
concave, recurved ribs and striae mark the prior positions of the anal sinus.
Varix
broad and hump-like, about ⅓-turn from the edge of the outer lip, based on the length of the outer lip scar on the suture and position of parietal callus of the
holotype
.
Outer lip
is broken off on the only mature specimen.
Anal sinus
unknown; a complete anal sinus is not present.
Inner lip
thick and detached anteriorly, thin on the parietal wall, formed into a parietal callus posteriorly.
Anterior canal
open, unnotched; anterior fasciole slightly swollen.
Color
off-white with 2 thin reddish-brown spirals, one below the whorl periphery, the other very faint, close to the anterior fasciole, and axial streaks between ribs giving the appearance of penciled squares on the shell base. Also, a white band is present on whorl shoulder; shell apex and aperture are white. Large reddish-brown patch present on varix shoulder above the posterior-most reddish-brown spiral line.
Remarks.
Taxonomy.
The single adult
type
specimen of
Splendrillia masinoi
,
new species
is missing its outer lip, and hence the exact form of the anal sinus, outer lip, and anterior canal is unknown. This species exhibits characteristics of the genus with the absence of spiral sculpture, except on the anterior fasciole, a hump-like varix set about ⅓-turn from the outer lip and with a dark color patch. Ribs have not completely disappeared in the sulcus, and are not as oblique as is characteristic of most members of the genus.
Identification.
The
type
specimens were originally mistaken to be juvenile
Decoradrillia pulchella
(Reeve, 1845)
but on closer inspection, the adult specimen was observed to have a slightly different color pattern and to be quite a bit smaller than that species. For contrast, compare Pl. 56, Fig. 19, a specimen of
D. pulchella
from the same locality with the adult
S. masinoi
. The brown spiral line is more diffuse in
S
.
masinoi
.
Splendrillia masinoi
is also similar to
S. cruzensis
,
new species
, and
S. karukeraensis
,
new species
. It differs in having more angular, broader ribs that are less oblique, and its color pattern is different.
Etymology.
Robert Masino’s
Splendrillia
. Named for Mr. Robert Masino who collected the
type
material.