Otitoma Jousseaume, 1898

Morassi, Mauro, Nappo, Andrea & Bonfitto, Antonio, 2017, New species of the genus Otitoma Jousseaume, 1898 (Pseudomelatomidae, Conoidea) from the Western Pacific Ocean, European Journal of Taxonomy 304, pp. 1-30 : 3

Genus Otitoma Jousseaume, 1898

Otitoma Jousseaume, 1898: 106 .

Thelecytharella Shuto, 1969: 208 (as subgenus of Euclathurella ). Type species (o.d.): Agladrillia oyamai Shuto, 1965 , Pleistocene of Japan.

Lioglyphostomella Shuto, 1970: 165 . Type species (o.d.): Drillia timorensis Schepman, 1913 , Recent of Indonesia.

Metaclathurella Shuto, 1983: 15 (as subgenus of Austropusilla ). Type species (o.d.): A. (M.) crokerensis Shuto, 1983 , Recent of Arafura Sea.

Type species

Otitoma ottitoma Jousseaume, 1898 (o.d.), Recent of Djibouti and Aden.

Diagnosis

Shell of small to moderate size, up to about 19 mm, with cylindric-fusiform or pupoid shape and constricted base. Sculpture predominantly spiral of weak to distinct cords sometimes plicate by axial ribs. Outer lip edge sharp, preceded by a varix, anal sinus rounded, U-shaped. Stromboid notch distinct. Inner lip with a parietal pad which constricts entrance to anal sinus. Protoconch paucispiral and papilliform to multispiral bluntly or narrowly conical.

Remarks

Shuto (1969: 208) proposed Thelecytharella as a subgenus of Euclathurella , selecting Agladrillia oyamai Shuto, 1965 from the Pleistocene of Kyushu ( Japan) as the type species. In 1970, the same author erected the genus Lioglyphostomella to accommodate two Recent species from Indonesia, Drillia kwandangensis Schepman, 1913 and D. timorensis Schepman, 1913 . Later, this author described Austropusilla (Metaclathurella) crokerensis Shuto, 1983 from the Arafura Sea ( Shuto 1983). Subsequently, Kilburn (1995) moved the genus Thelecytharella to the Mangeliinae and recognized two South African species, T. oneili (Barnard, 1958) and T. metuloides Kilburn, 1995 . In this paper we follow Kilburn (1995), who placed Metaclathurella and Lioglyphostomella in junior synonymy with Thelecytharella and demonstrated that Austropusilla is not related. A few years later, Sysoev (1997) described Thelecytharella kecil from Indonesia and demonstrated that it and T. vitrea (Reeve, 1845) are morphologically distinct and may actually represent a genus separate from Thelecytharella . Kilburn (2004) resurrected the genus Otitoma , previously considered a nomen dubium by Powell (1966: 126), and demonstrated that its type species, Otitoma ottitoma Jousseaume, 1898 from Yemen, is a synonym of the widely distributed Indo-Pacific Pleurotoma cyclophora Deshayes, 1863 . This latter species had been assigned to the genus Daphnella Hinds, 1844 , subgenus Hemidaphne Hedley, 1918 by Powell (1966). Kilburn (2004) described the similarities between Otitoma and Thelecytharella and considered the latter generic name a synonym of Otitoma . More recently, Wiedrick (2014) regarded both taxa as valid and described two new species, namely O. astrolabensis and “ Otitoma ” fergusoni, the latter assigned to genus Otitoma with doubt. Daphnella deluta Gould, 1860 , described from the ambiguous locality “ China Sea”, was assigned to the genus Otitoma by Wiedrick (2014). We have not examined the type material, but judging from photographs of the lectotype (USNM 24225), the species appears to be raphitomine and its inclusion in Otitoma is uncertain. Conversely, Drillia batjanensis Schepman, 1913 , described from Indonesia, Maluku ( Moluccas), West of Halmahera, at a depth of 397 m, has been assigned to the genus Maoritomella Powell, 1942 in the family Borsoniidae Bellardi, 1875 by numerous authors ( Beets 1984; Shuto 1970; Sysoev 1997), but photographs of the holotype (ZMA 136858), clearly indicate that the species belongs to genus Otitoma . Otitoma batjanensis is similar to the holotype of O. crokerensis ( Shuto, 1983) (see Australian Museum Collections). In this paper we follow Kilburn (2004) and tentatively treat Thelecytharella as a synonym of Otitoma , because in our opinion, the morphological features proposed by Wiedrick (2014) as diagnostic of the two groups are of doubtful value, at least at the supraspecific level. The systematic position of Otitoma (= Thelecytharella ) has been a subject of debate. Shuto (1969) and Kilburn (1995) referred it to the subfamily Mangeliinae (now Mangeliidae ), while Sysoev (1997) referred to Thelecytharella as “ Conoidea incertae sedis ”. More recently, Bouchet et al. (2011) assigned Otitoma (= Thelecytharella ) to the family Pseudomelatomidae Morrison, 1966 on the basis of molecular evidence.