Prototyphis, Ponder, 1972

Houart, Roland & Héros, Virginie, 2008, Muricidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Fiji and Tonga, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 437-480 : 471-473

Genus PROTOTYPHIS Ponder, 1972

Tripterotyphinae was established by D’Attilio & Hertz (1988) to include a few genera with a trivaricate shell, a muricopsine radula, and sealed or open spine-like tubes. This subfamily includes Pterotyphis Jousseaume, 1880 , Tripterotyphis Pilsbry & Lowe, 1932 , Prototyphis Ponder, 1972 , Ponderia Houart, 1986 and perhaps Semityphis Martin, 1931 . The species included in Tripterotyphinae superficially resemble Typhinae in having sealed or, in a few species, open tube-like spines. However, species of Typhinae have 4 or more varices and a highly varied and different radular morphology. The species of Prototyphis are somewhat atypical of Tripterotyphinae , as this is the only genus in which the aperture opens into an open (not sealed) channel in the shoulder spine, somewhat like that of Pterochelus . However, in Prototyphis the channel remains open into the aperture while the channel is sealed off by the apertural lip in mature specimens of Pterochelus ( D’Attilio & Myers 1983) . Moreover, the radula of Prototyphis angasi is muricopsine, having a short, prominent central cusp (Ponder 1972: text fig. 2, figs 16-16b; D’Attilio 1982: fig. 12).

B A

C D E

FIG. 9. Radulae. A, Pazinotus falcatiformis (Thiele,1925) , Fiji,BORDAU 1 DW 1465; B, Fiji,BORDAU 1 CP 1464.Scale bar:35 Μm. C, Bouchetia vaubanensis (Houart, 1986) , New Caledonia, BIOCAL stn DW 44. Scale bar:10 Μm. D, Pazinotus stimpsoni ( Dall, 1889) ,off the Virgin Islands, SMNH-71734.Scale bar: 30 Μm. E, Poirieria (Paziella) pazi , courtesy M.G. Harasewych (USNM). Scale bar: 40 Μm.

FIG. 10. Operculum. A, Pazinotus stimpsonii . Scale bar: 0.6 mm. B, Pazinotus falcatiformis . Scale bar: 1 mm. C, Bouchetia vaubanensis . Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Currently we consider that the following species belong to Prototyphis : P. allani Maxwell, 1971 (Lower Miocene, New Zealand)

P. angasi Crosse, 1863 (Recent, southern Australia)

P. awamoanus Finlay, 1930 (Miocene, New Zealand)

P. eos Hutton, 1873 (Recent, New Zealand)

P. gracilis n. sp. ( Fiji, described below)

P. tahuensis Maxwell, 1971 (Upper Eocene, New Zealand)