Orthotheres haliotidis Geiger & Martin, 1999

Orthotheres haliotidis Geiger & Martin, 1999: 273 –278, figs. 1–7 [type locality: between Lizard Head and Coconut Beach, Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia].

Pinnixa faba . — Haswell, 1882: 113. — Grant & McCulloch, 1906: 6, 23. — Schmitt et al., 1973: 108 –109 [northern Australian references only]. — Geiger & Martin, 1999: 269, 270. — Davie, 2002: 431. [Not Pinnixa faba (Dana, 1851)].

Material. QLD: AM G5919, 2 males (cw 6.7–7.0 mm, cl 6.2–6.4 mm), 1 female (cw 9.8 mm, cl 7.2 mm), Masthead Id., 23°32’S, 151°44’E, from Haliotis asinina, F. E. Grant; AM P14875 (identified by Haswell as Pinnixia faba), 1 female (cw 12.7 mm, cl 9.0 mm), Holbourne Id., Port Denison, found in Haliotis coccoradiata; AM P3155, 2 females (cw 12.3– 12.7 mm, cl 7.9–8.8 mm), Masthead Id., 23°32’S, 151°44’E, from Haliotis asinina, A. McCulloch & E. Troughton, Aug 1912 .

Australian hosts. Gastropod molluscs, Haliotidae . Haliotis asinina Linnaeus, 1758 (Grant & McCulloch, 1906; Geiger & Martin, 1999), H. coccoradiata Reeve, 1846 (Haswell, 1882); H. squamata Reeve, 1846 (Geiger & Martin, 1999) .

Remarks. Rathbun (1918) was the first to suggest that Haswell's (1882) record of Pinnixia faba from Australia was probably incorrect. Geiger & Martin (1999) further suggested that most previous records of Pinnixa faba from Australia could have been based on Orthotheres haliotidis . Thomson’s (1893) report of Pinnixia faba from Tasmania, perpetuated by Guiler (1952) is almost certainly based on Pinnotheres hickmani, the common Tasmanian species. Other primary records of P. f a b a from Australia are based on specimens in the collections of the Australian Museum; all were re­examined and are referable to O. haliotidis . The specimen from Holbourne Island, Port Denison (AM P14875), is the basis of Haswell’s (1882) record and those from Masthead Island (G5919) are the basis of Grant & McCulloch’s (1906) record. Subsequent reports of Pinnixia faba from Australia (i.e. Schmitt et al. 1973, Davie 2002) are based on the original records of Haswell (1882) and Grant & McCulloch (1906).

Distribution. Australia, from Fremantle, Western Australia and Lizard Island, Masthead Island, Rat Island, and Port Denison, Queensland (Geiger & Martin 1999, this study).