Fulvia (Fulvia) vepris, Vidal & Kirkendale, 2007

Vidal, Jacques & Kirkendale, Lisa, 2007, Ten new species of Cardiidae (Mollusca, Bivalvia) from New Caledonia and the tropical western Pacific, Zoosystema 29 (1), pp. 83-107 : 89-90

Fulvia (Fulvia) vepris n. sp.

( Fig. 3 D-F) TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype: cv, 15.8 × 15.8 × 10.8 mm. Paratypes (2): cv, 15.7 × 16.2 × 11.0 mm; cv, 11.0 × 11.7 × 6.2 mm (Dautzenberg coll.).

TYPE LOCALITY. — New Caledonia, exact locality not specified.

ETYMOLOGY. — The name alludes to the similarities with members of the genus Vepricardium in many gross shell features, more so than any other Fulvia studied thus far. The existence of this new intermediate form, which shares four significant characters with Vepricardium , provides the first evidence that these genera may be more closely related than previously thought ( Schneider 1992, 1995).

DISTRIBUTION. — New Caledonia.

DESCRIPTION

Shell small, subcircular and subsymmetrical, very slightly oblique, and not posteriorly straightened.

Lunular area small, slightly flattened, margin convex in left valve, concave in right valve; lunular heart long and narrow; no sublunule.

Exterior whitish with rare, irregular, concentric pink blotching; last five posterior ribs light pink; umbo dark pink, with pink colour extending ventrally as a ray. Lunular area white. Interior white, except for a slight pink colour in the umbonal cavity and a strongly pink-stained posterodorsal margin. Adductor scars with pink spotting and staining.

Hinge plate characteristic of the genus Fulvia ( Vidal 1994: 97) in being narrow, thin and moderately curved (120-150°), occasionally angled in the anterior. However, the hinge differs slightly from other Fulvia in being symmetrical and with a long ligament.

Ribs 52-54.

Ribs (c. 14) are larger in the posterior third of the shell than in the medio-anterior shell regions, and the periostracal line bears tubercles. The last five ribs in the posterior are split into two parts by a slight furrow and bear more numerous, regularly disposed, tubercles than ribs in the anterior area of the shell. On the most median and anterior part of the shell, the ribs are low, flatly rounded, slightly asymmetrical, with their posterior margin slightly raised and bearing thin periostracal insertions; interstices narrow. The anterior most ribs are flatter and larger compared with adjacent anterior ribs.

REMARKS

As the name suggests, Fulvia vepris n. sp. shares some characters with species in the genus Vepricardium : solidity of the shell, absence of a sublunular area, relatively high ribs on the median shell region and presence of carbonaceous tubercles. However, like species of Fulvia , F. vepris n. sp. exhibits localized periostracal insertions, possesses a well-developed lunular heart and has a typical Fulvia hinge. The tubercles on the anterior and posterior zones are unique to F. vepris n. sp. and immediately distinguish it from all other members of the genus. Fulvia vepris n. sp. can be further differentiated from F. colorata n. sp. in being more solid, less elongate (L/H 1.03 compared with 0.89 for F. colorata n. sp., Table 9) and less intensely coloured. Fulvia vepris n. sp. is represented by a sole lot of three shells from the Dautzenberg collection ( New Caledonia) housed at the MNHN.

Figures

FIG. 3. — A-C, Fulvia colorata n. sp.; D-F, F. vepris n. sp.; G-I, F. subquadrata n. sp.; J-L, F. imperfecta n. sp. Scale bars: 5 mm.