Basiliolella grayi ( Woodward, 1855 )

Bitner, Maria Aleksandra, 2009, Recent Brachiopoda from the Norfolk Ridge, New Caledonia, with description of four new species, Zootaxa 2235, pp. 1-39 : 7-8

Basiliolella grayi ( Woodward, 1855)

( Fig. 3 F–I)

This rhynchonellide species has a very complex taxonomic history. In 1959, G. A. Cooper assigned the present-day species Rhynchonella grayi Woodward, 1855 to the fossil genus Eohemithiris Hertlein & Grant, 1944 , known from the Eocene of California. Later, d’Hondt (1987) erected a new genus and species, Basiliolella ferox , for some material from off southern New Caledonia. Afterwards, based on the rich material collected around New Caledonia and the Chesterfield Islands, Laurin (1997) concluded that so-called Eohemithiris grayi and Basiliolella ferox are identical, and he synonymized both species under the name Eohemithiris grayi . Further investigations (Savage et al. 2002) have shown that Cooper’s (1959) assignment of Rhynchonella grayi to Eohemithiris was incorrect and that this Recent species should be attributed to the genus Basiliolella created by d’Hondt (1987). As B. grayi and B. ferox are synonymous (confirmed also by my own examination of the material) the specific name grayi has priority over the name ferox .

Basiliolella grayi was common in the present collections, being found on six seamounts and on the slope of the Isle of Pines ( Tables 1, 2) at 185–560 m ( Fig. 14 ). The species was also noted from off Fiji by Woodward (1855) and Logan (2007) but was not found in the rich material from Fiji recently investigated by Bitner (2006b, 2008). It also occurs in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu regions (Bitner in prep.).

Figures

FIGURE 14. Depth ranges of particular brachiopod species collected during the Norfolk 1 and Norfolk 2 cruises to the Norfolk Ridge, New Caledonia.

FIGURE 3. A – C, Basiliola lucida (Gould, 1862), dorsal, lateral and anterior views of complete specimen, MNHN BRA- 3126, Norfolk Ridge, Norfolk 2 Stn DW 2126, 398 – 550 m. D, E, Basiliola beecheri (Dall, 1895), dorsal and anterior views of complete specimen, MNHN BRA- 3127, Norfolk Ridge, Norfolk 2 Stn DW 2069, 795 – 852 m. F – I, Basiliolella grayi (Woodward, 1855), Norfolk Ridge, Norfolk 2 Stn DW 2116, 242 m; F, G, dorsal and anterior views of complete specimen, MNHN BRA- 3128; H, I, SEM micrographs of posterior part of dorsal valve interior and oblique view, MNHN BRA- 3129.