Vexillum (Protoelongata) loyaltyense ( HERVIER, 1897 ) Herrmann & Stossier & Salisbury, 2014

Herrmann, Manfred, Stossier, Günter & Salisbury, Richard, 2014, A new subgenus including three new species of the genus Vexillum (Gastropoda: Costellariidae) from the central Indo-Pacific with remarks on Vexillum (Pusia) semicostatum (ANTON, 1838), Contributions to Natural History 24, pp. 1-55 : 18

Vexillum (Protoelongata) loyaltyense ( HERVIER, 1897) comb. nov.

( Figs 7 , 10, 44–47 )

Description

Slender, fusiform shell, reaching about 13 mm in length. Elongated protoconch consists of 5 conoidal whorls. Teleoconch consists of 6 to 8 slightly convex whorls. Spire outline straight, body whorl with 16 to 18, and penultimate whorl with 18 to 22 axial ribs, with spiral threads in the interspaces or axial ribs only present on the first 2 to 3 whorls and remaining whorls smooth. Aperture shorter than half the entire shell, lirate inside. Lip straight in posterior half, then recurved towards the siphonal fasciole. Siphonal canal short, wide and nearly straight. Columella with 4 strong folds, decreasing in size anteriorly. Folds merge into spiral cords when leaving the columellar shield.

Colour pattern: Shell greyish brown. Protoconch yellowish with brown margin at posterior side or completely brown, spire whorls with a pale central line and dark spots at the suture, body whorl with two pale yellowish lines and two to three rows of dark spots, columellar folds greyish and aperture coloured as the outer shell.

Lectotype designation

The three syntypes mentioned by Hervier are not traceable in the MNHN nor in the Dautzenberg collection at the Institut Royal de Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Brussels, where other types of the Hervier collection were deposited ( Cernohorsky 1981). Therefore, we hereby designate the specimen that formed the basis for the type figure of Mitra (Pusia) loyaltyensis HERVIER, 1897 (original description plate X, fig. 7) as lectotype of Vexillum (Protoelongata) loyaltyense ( HERVIER, 1897) ( Fig. 46 ).

Type locality: New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Lifou (leg. Goubin).

Distribution: Subtidal zones of western Pacific from Japan in the north ( Kubo 1997) via the Philippines ( Cernohorsky 1981 – Figs 44–45, 47 ) and Guam ( Robin & Martin 2004) to the Marshall Islands ( Turner 1993 – Fig. 10 ) and southward to New Caledonia ( Hervier 1897).

Figures

Plate 1: Vexillum (Protoelongata) subgen. nov., all figures 4.5 x Fig. 1: Vexillum (Protoelongata) dekkersi sp. nov., paratype 1, Philippines, Bohol, Balicasag Island, collected 2000, 11.7 mm, MS 63760. Fig. 2: Vexillum (Protoelongata) bilineatum (REEVE, 1845) comb. nov., Philippines, Cebu, dived 15–20 m, 20.6 mm, MH. Fig. 3: Vexillum (Protoelongata) xerampelina (MELVILL, 1895) comb. nov., holotype, Arabian Sea, Yemen, Aden, 18.8 mm, ex coll. E.R. Shopland; J.C. Melvill, NMW.1955.158.00429 (coll. Melvill-Tomlin). Fig. 4: Vexillum (Protoelongata) rubrotaeniatum sp. nov., paratype 9, Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal, Bonegi, collected Aug 1987 by F. Lorenz on rocks at night at 21 m, 13.8 mm, MH. Fig. 5: Vexillum (Protoelongata) corallinum (REEVE, 1845) comb. nov., Philippines, Bohol, Balicasag Island, 73–88 m, 17.5 mm, ex coll. Steinke, MH. Fig. 6: Vexillum (Protoelongata) heleneae sp. nov., holotype, Guam, Orote Point, Orote Cliffs, collected by R. Salisbury under a pile of rocks at 18 m, 7 Jan 1978, 17.2 mm, MNHN 27071. Fig. 7: Vexillum (Protoelongata) loyaltyense (HERVIER, 1897) comb. nov., Philippines, Cebu, Mactan Island, Punta Engaño, collected 2009 by lumun lumun net at 25–50 m, 10.3 mm, MH. Photos: Fig. 3 Harriet Wood (NMW), Fig. 6 Richard Salisbury, other photos Manfred Herrmann.

Plate 2: Vexillum (Protoelongata) subgen. nov. Fig. 8: Vexillum (Protoelongata) bilineatum (REEVE, 1845) comb. nov., Guam, Agat Bay, Dadi Beach, collected by night dive at 9 m. Aquarium photo by Bob Abela. Fig. 9: Vexillum (Protoelongata) cf. xerampelina (MELVILL, 1895) comb. nov., Japan, Okinawa, collected 2003. Photo by Shawn Miller. Fig. 10: Vexillum (Protoelongata) loyaltyense (HERVIER, 1897) comb. nov., Marshall Islands, Kwajalein Atoll on lagoon pinnacle at ~ 18 m, collected by night dive and photographed by Jeanette Johnson.

Plate 13: Vexillum (Protoelongata) loyaltyense (HERVIER, 1897) comb. nov., all figures 8 x Fig. 44: Juvenile specimen, Philippines, Cebu, Mactan Island, Punta Engaño, 4.7 mm, GS. Fig. 45a–b: Immature specimen, Philippines, Bohol, Balicasag Island, lumun lumun net 2006, 8.3 mm, MH. Fig. 46: Lectotype, designated herein, type figure of Mitra (Pusia) loyaltyensis HERVIER, 1897, Loyalty Islands. Fig. 47: Adult specimen, Philippines, Cebu, Mactan Island, Punta Engaño, lumun lumun net at 25–50 m, 10.3 mm, MH. Photos: Manfred Herrmann.