The genus Serrata Jousseaume, 1875 (Caenogastropoda: Marginellidae) in New Caledonia Author Boyer, Franck John T. Huber text Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 2008 196 389 436 journal article 978-2-85653-614-8 1243-4442 Serrata veneria n. sp. Figs 16, 58 TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype (lv) MNHN 20595 and 9 paratypes (lv and dd) MNHN 20596 , 1 paratype (dd) MMM , 1 paratype (dd) NMNZ . TYPE LOCALITY. — Southern New Caledonia , 22°53’S , 167°17’E , 570-610 m [BIOCAL: stn DW 46] . MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Southern New Caledonia . BIOCAL: 1 NMNZ ). — MUSORSTOM 4 : stn DW 221, 22°59’S , 167°37’E , stn DW 46, 22°53’S , 167°17’E , 570-610 m , 2 lv ( holotype , Fig. 535-560 m , 1 dd. — SMIB 8: stn DW 193-196, 22°59’S- 23°S , 16 and 1 paratype MNHN ), 10 dd ( 8 paratypes MNHN , 1 MMM , 168°21’E- 168°23’E , 491-558 m , 3 lv . DISTRIBUTION. — Southern New Caledonia , live in 491-610 m , shells in 558-570 m . DESCRIPTION. — Shell moderately biconical, solid, subtranslucent. Protoconch paucispiral, large, dome-shaped, smooth. Spire moderate-sized, inflated, apex blunt, whorls weakly convex. Aperture moderately open, very oblique, widening slightly anteriorly. Base tapering. Outer lip thickened over posterior part, attenuated anteriorly, moderately reflected over central part. Shoulder rounded, anterior part oblique and weakly sinuous, outer margin thick, protruding, flat, stepped, inner edge weakly sinuous, bearing 7 small well-spaced denticles along its slightly excavated anterior part, upper part smooth. Four thin columellar plaits, 2 anterior ones oblique, weakly sinuous, 2 posterior ones simple, oblique, decreasing in size posteriorly. Ground colour whitish opalescent, slightly golden on dorsum, pale golden orange on central part of outer lip. Dimensions: 4.05 x 2.15 mm . Radula from 1 specimen (Fig. 58): uniserial, 26 faintly arched plates around 60 Μm in width, bearing about 34 subequal short cusps, blunt to weakly acute. REMARKS. — The shell morphology of Serrata veneria does not vary noticeably among the rather large number of specimens and over its extensive range off southern New Caledonia . Despite obvious affinities, S. veneria is easily distinguished from S. occidentalis by its more inflated spire, its somewhat sinuous outer lip, the small number of tiny denticles grouped on the anterior part of the inner lip, and its thinner columellar plaits. Serrata veneria is also similar in most shell characters to the less inflated S. bathusi , which appears intermediate between S. veneria and S. minima . ETYMOLOGY. — Latin venerius (adj., belonging to Venus), referring to the voluptuous figure of the shell outline.