Bittium iadertinum var. coralligena Bellini, 1902a: 91

Fasulo, Giuseppe, Duraccio, Sergio, Federico, Antonio & Crocetta, Fabio, 2019, The (almost) unknown Italian naturalist Raffaello Bellini (1874 - 1930): biography malacological publications, and status of his recent molluscan taxa, Zootaxa 4668 (3), pp. 343-369 : 352-353

Bittium iadertinum var. coralligena Bellini, 1902a: 91 , 102, figs. 7a–c [ex Monterosato ms.]

( Fig. 4A )

Type locality: Capri Island (Naples, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) .

Original description: not described. This taxon was never formally described, but only figured in Bellini (1902a) under the name “ Bittium iadertinum Brusina var. coralligena Monterosato ”. Monterosato also never described this taxon (see Appolloni et al. 2018), and thus this name is available due to Bellini (1902) ’s figures, published before 1931 ( ICZN 2012: Art. 11, 12).

Material examined: 15 shells labelled by Bellini “ Bittium iadertinum Brus. var. coralligenum Mtros—Capri ” (MCZR—not numbered) actually belong to Bittium jadertinum Brusina, 1865 , now a junior synonym of Bittium reticulatum (da Costa, 1778) (MolluscaBase 2019c) ( Fig. 4B, C ).

Remarks: having been instituted as a race connected to a specific habitat, we rank it subspecific, and thus available ( ICZN 2012: Art. 10, glossary). Strangely, Praus Franceschini (1906) listed “ var. coralligena ” as a variety of Bittium latreillei (Payraudeau, 1826) and “ var. corallinum Mtrs. ” as a variety of Bittium jadertinum Brusina, 1865 , thus raising doubts as to whether or not he cited the taxon introduced by Bellini (1902a). Material belonging to both taxa was deposited in the MZF2 museum by himself, thus not constituting the original types; such material was also not found by us in MZF2. Also Bellini (1929a) only listed Bittium iadertinum var. corallinum in his general overview of the marine molluscan species living in the Gulf of Naples, thus apparently skipping his own taxon. No other mention to Bittium iadertinum var. coralligena Bellini, 1902a was found in the subsequent malacological literature. Taking into account the complex taxonomy of the genus Bittium Gray, 1847 , as well as the low quality of the original figures, this taxon may fit several congeneric Mediterranean taxa, and thus it is considered a nomen dubium ( ICZN 2012: glossary).

Figures

FIGURE 4. A–C. Bittium iadertinum var. coralligena. A. Original figures. B. Possible type material from Capri Island (Naples)—4.9×1.5 mm. C. Original label handwritten by Bellini. MCZR—not numbered. D, E. Murex trunculus var. propeconglobata. D. Fossil(?) shell from Sciacca (Agrigento)—72.4×52.8 mm. E. Original label handwritten by Monterosato. MCZR- M-7623. F, G. Fusus (Pseudofusus) pulchellus var. curta. F. Original figures. G. Shells from Capri Island (Naples) and original label handwritten by Monterosato (up to 16 mm in total height). MCCIC—drawer 8, n. 146. H. Clathromangilia granum var. prausi. Original figures. I. Left. Cardium (Parvicardium) exiguum var. minimum. Original figure. I. Right. Cardium (Parvicardium) exiguum var. paludosum. Original figures.