Nerita tautirana Curtiss, 1938

Low, Martyn E. Y. & Tan, Siong Kiat, 2014, On the identities of the molluscan names described in A Short Zoology of Ta h i t i in the Society Islands by Anthony Curtiss in 1938 (Mollusca: Cephalopoda, Gastropoda), Zootaxa 3764 (3), pp. 394-400 : 398-399

Nerita tautirana Curtiss, 1938 , a synonym of Nerita plicata Linnaeus, 1758

Original description (p. 192). “The whitish Tahiti nerita has a whitish shell, marked with spiral furrows. Its opening is crescent-shaped, with four teeth on the inside of the inner lip, and six on the inside of the outer lip. The outer lip has a sharp edge, but is thicker further down. The entrance is closed with the dull brownish-yellow membrane of the bottom of the foot, when the animal is inside. The shell is rounded out, almost like a half a globe, the first whorl of the spire being large, and the rest of the spire pretty flat and small. The under side of the shell is flattish. This is found on rocks near the sea-side, and is called by the Indians hihi. ( Nerita tautirana . (Seaside, near Tautira.))”.

Identity. The detailed description of the conchological characteristics (notably the whitish shell marked with spiral furrows and an aperture with four teeth on the inside of the inner lip, and six on the inside of the outer lip) easily identifies this species with Nerita plicata Linnaeus, 1758 , a widespread Indo-West Pacific species. Confusion with other congeners recorded from the French Polynesia by Tröndlé & Boutet (2009) is unlikely.