Bathyferula delannoyei, Stahlschmidt, Peter, Lamy, Dominique & Fraussen, Koen, 2012

Stahlschmidt, Peter, Lamy, Dominique & Fraussen, Koen, 2012, Bathyferula, a new Caribbean deep-water turrid genus (Gastropoda: Turroidea), with description of a large-sized new species, Zootaxa 3158, pp. 65-68 : 66-68

Bathyferula delannoyei new species

( Figures 1–7)

Type material. Holotype, MNHN 23300, 71.1 mm, off Martinique, 750 m deep. — Paratype 1, PSC- 020156, 83.5 mm, same locality as the holotype. — Paratype 2, KFC, 77.0 mm, Saint-Martin, 350 m deep. — Paratype 3, DLC, 77.3 mm, off Vieux Fort, Guadeloupe, 600 m deep. — Paratype 4, USNM 1155017, 79.0 mm, West of Half Moon Bay, Roatan Island, Honduras, 16°17.924’N – 86°36.292’W, 232 m deep leg. Harasewych (5/2011) by submarine Idabel (Deepcast II Dive 6).

Type locality. Lesser Antilles, off Martinique, 750 m deep.

Distribution. Only known by the type material from Lesser Antilles ( Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin) and eastern Honduras. Sand and mud bottom, depth between 323 and 750m.

Description. Shell rather large (up to 83.5 mm), thin but solid. Shape elongate, fusiform with high, pointed spire and moderately elongate unnotched anterior canal; whorls convex, laterally slightly flattened, with weak subsutural concavity; suture distinct. Ground colour brown; pattern rather blurry, consisting of a thin, rather reddish-brown coloured subsutural fold, a slightly paler, narrow band below periphery, usually with a slightly darker spiral band just above this pale spiral band; occasionally with some paler and some darker, narrow, incremental bands.

Protoconch unknown, uppermost spire whorls eroded in all specimens studied. Teleoconch consisting of at least 11 convex whorls. Teleoconch whorl eroded but with characteristics of sculpture traceable: a flattened subsutural fold, ornamented with 4 or 5 fine spiral threads; whorl with about 10 fine spiral cords traceable, interspaces twice as broad. Penultimate whorl ornamented with 5 fine spiral threads on subsutural fold; sinus zone smooth or with obscure spirals seen under magnification; 13 fine, sharp spiral cords abapically of shoulder. Adapical part of body whorl with 12 spiral cords, usually of equal strength, interspaces shallow, of equal size; subsutural cord low, with 5 fine spiral threads; and sinus zone with 4 or 5 obscure spiral threads. Abapical half of body whorl with numerous fine spiral cords: base with about 17 fine spiral cords alternating in width; anterior canal with numerous fine spiral cords, interspaces narrow. Axial sculpture consists of short axial ribs on periphery of upper whorls. Axial ribs gradually becoming weaker along seventh whorl, penultimate and body whorls rather smooth. Whole shell covered by fine incremental lines: their shape prosocline on subsutural spiral cord, and rather prosocyrt along remaining part of whorl, base and anterior canal. Aperture narrow; columella smooth, glossy, almost straight; outer lip thin, simple, edge broken in all studied specimens. Anal sinus regularly U-shaped, rather shallow, most retracted part situated in the middle of subsutural zone. Anterior canal moderately long, narrow, open. Aperture together with anterior canal more than 2/5 of total shell length. Body whorl is about 4/7 of total shell length. Animal and operculum are unknown.

Comparison. Bathyferula delannoyei new species is characterized by a slender and acuminate shape at a large size, a reddish brown colour, the presence of fine spiral cords and a broad but flat subsutural fold.

Hindsiclava macilenta ( Dall, 1889) ( Figures 8–9 ) has a similar shell shape and shares the faint subsutural fold but differs in having well developed strong axial sculpture and a constricted anal sinus constrained by a parietal callus. Famelica scipio ( Dall, 1889) looks similar only at first glance, with Bathyferula delannoyei new species superficially looking like a gigantic form of it, but apart from the differences in size, Dall’s species is easily distinguished by the smooth and fragile shell and by the absence of a subsutural fold.

Etymology. Bathyferula delannoyei new species is named to honour our friend Régis Delannoye from Martinique who has brought this new species to our attention.

Figures

FIGURES 8 – 9. Hindsiclava macilenta (Dall, 1889) 42.4 mm, Barbados, off St James, PSC- 020162.