Litiopa melanostoma Rang, 1829

Cavallari, Daniel Caracanhas, Almeida, Sérgio Mendonça & Simone, Luiz Ricardo L., 2020, Cerithiidae, Litiopidae, Modulidae and Planaxidae (Gastropoda, Cerithioidea) collected by the Marion Dufresne MD 55 expedition in southeastern Brazil, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 60, pp. 1-10 : 4

Litiopa melanostoma Rang, 1829

( Figs. 17‑20 )

Synonymy see Watson (1886), Tryon-Jr. (1887), Palmer (1942), Houbrick (1987a) and Bouchet (2002). Complement:

Bombyxinus uva Bélanger in Lesson, 1831: sign. 14.

Litiopa melanostoma: Lebour, 1945: 462 , fig. 8A-D; Morretes, 1949: 79, Abbott, 1954: 156, pl. 21, fig. k; Parker & Curray, 1956: 2434, tab.; Warmke & Abbott, 1962: 74, pl. 13, fig. G; Rios, 1970: 43, 1975: 50, pl. 13, 1985: 52, pl. 19, 1994: 63, pl. 21, 2009: 108, text fig.; Robertson,1971:4; Abbott,1974:108,fig.1047; Stoner & Greening, 1984: 187, tab. 2; Houbrick, 1987a: 9; Jong & Coomans, 1988: 45, pl. 15; Scheltema et al., 1989: 139; Avila et al., 1998: 497; Redfern, 2001: 22, pl. 12, fig. 90A-B; Scarabino, 2004: 275; Reyes et al., 2007: 383, tab. 01; Williams et al., 2008: 67; Prozorova et al., 2012: 167; Huffard et al., 2014: 2741.

Type locality: Originally referred to as “mers de Terre- Neuve”,which corresponds to the seas of Newfoundland, eastern Canada, according to Higo et al. (1999).

Distribution: Worldwide in open seas (Higo et al., 1999); Western Atlantic, from Gulf of Mexico to Venezuela (Miloslavich et al., 2010) and Brazil ( Rios, 2009); Eastern Atlantic, from Azores to European waters (Avila et al., 1998); Pacific, tropical latitudes (Gofas et al., 2001).

Material examined: Brazil; off Espírito Santo: Abrolhos Continental Slope , 18°58′S, 37°48′W, 682 m, MNHN, 2 shells ( MD55 , sta. SY74, 27/v/1987) ; 18°59′S, 37°48′W, 1,540-1,550 m, MNHN, 3 shells, MZSP 147433 , 2 shells ( MD55 , sta. DC70 , 26/v/1987) ; 19°00′S, 37°49′W, 950- 1,050 m, MNHN, 3 shells, MZSP 147434 , 2 shells ( MD55 , sta. DC72 , 27/v/1987) .

Measurements (± standard deviation, in mm; n = 12): H = 3.33 ± 0.73; W = 1.57 ± 0.23; h = 1.39 ± 0.22; w = 0.71 ± 0.18.

Remarks: Though none of the specimens studied herein were collected alive ( Fig. 19 ), the present records of well-preserved specimens represent a bathymetric expansion from the previously reported range of 0-805 m ( Rosenberg, 2009), going as deep as 1,540 -1,550 m. Nevertheless, this is a pelagic species that lives attached to floating debris (Higo et al., 1999). The present material was probably carried by debris floating at the surface level to the localities reported herein, and the shells sunk after death.

Figures

Figures 1-20. Cerithiidae and Litiopidae collected by the MD55 expedition off SE Brazil;(1-6) Ittibittiumoryza; (1-3) MZSP 122161,sta.DC22 (L 4.5 mm),(1) apertural, (2) right lateral and (3) apical views;(4-6) MNHN, sta. DC35 (L 3.8 mm), (4) apical,(5) apertural and (6) right lateral views; (7-9) Cerithium atratum, MNHN, sta.DC34 (L 3.2 mm), (7) apertural, (8) right lateral and (9) apical views; (10-12) Bayercerithium bayeri juvenile specimen, MNHN, sta. DC34 (L 2.5 mm), (10) apical, (11) apertural, and (12) right lateral views; (13-15) Alaba incerta MNHN, sta. CB96 (L 3.8 mm), (13) apertural view, (14) right lateral, (15) protoconch detail, (16) apical view (scale = 0.2 mm). (17-20) Litiopa melanostoma MNHN,sta.DC72 (L 4.5 mm), (17) protoconch detail (scale = 0.2 mm), (18) apical,(19) apertural, (20) right lateral views.