Porcellana habei Miyake, 1961

(Fig. 4 A–C)

Porcellana habei Miyake, 1961: 240, figs. 3, 4 (type locality: Amakura, Kyushu, Japan).— Haig, 1965: 108.— Yang & Xu, 1994: 118, fig. 5.

Material examined. Type material: Japan. West coast of Tomioka, Amakura, Kyushu, sandy mud, 30–50m, inside shell of of Hemifusus tuba (Gmelin, 1871) inhabited by Aniculus miyakei Forest, 1984, gill-net for spiny lobsters, coll. T. Habe, Nov. 1959, 1 male CL 5.8 mm, holotype (ZLKU 7400). Same data as holotype, 1 male CL 5.1 mm, paratype (ZLKU 7401).

New Caledonia. St. DW1072, 19°56.0’S, 164°02.4’E, 20 m, 23 Oct. 1989, coll. B. Richer de Forges- ORSTOM, 1 ovig. female CL 6.7 mm. Nouville, lagoon, 18–20 m, tube of Eunicidae, 1 Apr. 1993, coll. P. Bouchet, 1 male CL 5.0 mm.

Remarks. Porcellana habei was originally described by Miyake (1961) on the basis of two specimens from Amakura, Kyushu, south Japan. Subsequently, Haig (1965) recorded this species from Western Australia. The Western Australias specimen was reported to have a small notch at the epibranchial angle, instead of the pronounced notch shown in the original description. Examination of the type specimens has shown that they in fact have a rather shallow notch each at the epibranchial angle unlike the original illustratuion. The material examined from New Caledonia also agrees with these specimens (Fig. 4 D).

Porcellana habei resembles P. p e r s i c a Haig, 1966 from the Gulf of Oman and P. curvifrons Yang & Sun, 1990 from the Fujian Province in China, but differs in having the lateral lobe of the rostrum being subequal in breadth to the median lobe (much narrower than the median lobe in P. persica and P. curvifrons).

Distribution. Kyushu, Japan; Nansha Islands, South China Sea; Gulf of Thailand; Malay Peninsula; Singapore; Java Sea; and Western Australia; 6–70 m; clay with shells and gravels, sand and stones, or in sponges and shells inhabited by hermit crabs (Miyake 1961; Haig 1981; Yang & Xu 1994).