Description of a New Species of Murex Ss (Gastropoda: Muricidae)

Home , Haustellum, Murex, Murex philippinensis, Murex scolopax, Murex tribulus, Muricidae

Short Notes ©Malacological Society of Japan71

Short Notes

Description of a New Species of Murex s.s. (Gastropoda: Muricidae) from Taiwan

Roland Houart Research Associate, Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Rue Vautier, 29, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium; [email protected]

The Recent and fossil species of Murex s.s. were abapertural primary cord on the siphonal canal; revised by Ponder & Vokes (1988) and a few EABP – extreme abapertural primary cord on the Recent species were named or commented on siphonal canal; IRSNB – Institut royal des Sciences afterwards by Parth (1990, 1994), Neubert (1998), naturelles de Belgique, Bruxelles, Belgium; MNHN – Houart & Dharma (2001) and Houart (2010). At Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France; least six species are known from Taiwan: Murex RH – Collection of the author; SL – shell length. aduncospinosus Sowerby, 1841, M. pecten Lightfoot, 1786, M. tenuirostrum Lamarck, 1822, Taxonomy M. ternispina Lamarck, 1822, M. trapa Röding, 1798 and M. troscheli Lischke, 1868 (Lai, 1977, Family Muricidae Rafinesque, 1815 1987; Ponder & Vokes, 1988). None of these is Subfamily Muricinae Rafinesque, 1815 related to the new species described below. Genus Murex Linnaeus, 1758 The four examined specimens studied here were Subgenus Murex s.s. collected dead, empty and worn by shrimp trawlers, however they are well preserved and can certainly Type species by subsequent designation be described and compared carefully. No Recent (Montfort, 1810): Murex tribulus Linnaeus, 1758, as species is closely related, but two fossils species Murex pecten Montfort, 1810 (not Lightfoot, 1786). described from the Pliocene of Java are compared. The standard terminology used to describe the Murex (Murex) huangi n. sp. spiral cords was established by Merle (1999, 2001) (Figs. 3–7) (Fig. 1) for each major sequence of appearance of the primary, secondary and tertiary cords. The Type material: Holotype MNHN 22817, 77.5 terminology noted in parentheses is erratic. mm SL (Figs. 3–4), 1 paratype IRSNB IG31498/ MT2251, 61.0 mm SL; 2 paratypes coll. RH, 69.5 Abbreviations (Fig. 1): P – primary cord; s – and 53.8 mm SL (Figs. 1, 5–7). secondary cord; t – tertiary cord; ad – adapical; ab – Type locality: Pengchiayu Island, Northeast abapical; IP – infrasutural primary cord (primary Taiwan, between 80 and 200 m (Fig. 2). cord on subsutural ramp); adis – adapical infrasutural Distribution: Pengchiayu Island, northeast of secondary cord (on subsutural ramp); abis – abapical Taiwan. infrasutural secondary cord (on subsutural ramp); P1 – Etymology: Named for Yu-Lin Huang, the shoulder cord; P2–P6 – primary cords of the convex fisherman who provided the four specimens studied part of the teleoconch whorl; s1–s6 – secondary cords here. of the convex part of the teleoconch whorl (example: Description: Shell of medium size for the genus, s1 = secondary cord between P1 and P2; s2 = up to 77.5 mm in length at maturity (siphonal canal secondary cord between P2 and P3, etc.); ADP – broken), broad, heavy, weakly nodose. Subsutural adapertural primary cord on the siphonal canal; MP – ramp weakly sloping, weakly convex. Shell greyish- median primary cord on the siphonal canal; ABP – white. Spire high, teleoconch up to 6 or 7 broad, 72 VENUS 69 (1–2), 2010

Fig. 1. Terminology used in Murex (Murex) huangi n. sp.

Fig. 2. Type locality of Murex (Murex) huangi n. sp. (map courtesy of Ie-Feng Fu). strongly shouldered nodose whorls. Suture and longest spine, P2–P4 short, P5 small, P6 impressed. Protoconch unknown (eroded in all narrowest, second longest spine. P2, P4 and P5 specimens). Axial sculpture of teleoconch whorls obsolete in holotype. Aperture large, broad, roundly consisting of low, strong, broad, weakly spinose ovate. Columellar lip broad, smooth, rim adherent, varices, producing short, broad spines. First whorl weakly erect at abapical extremity. Anal notch eroded, second whorl with 9 or 10 strong axial ribs, shallow, narrow. Outer lip erect, crenulated, smooth second to fifth whorls with 3 varices and 2 strong within, with a broad, short labral tooth between P4 intervarical elongate nodes, Sixth and last whorls and P5. Siphonal canal partly broken in all with 3 broad, heavy varices and one strong, specimens but relatively short with ADP, MP, ABP, elongate, low intervarical node. Spiral sculpture of EABP. Spines decreasing in length abapically, low, weak primary, secondary and tertiary cords, short, straight, narrowly open. Operculum and and numerous weak additional threads. Last radula unknown. teleoconch whorl with s, adis, IP, (s), abis, s, (t), P1, Remarks: Ponder & Vokes (1988: 49, fig. 23; s1, P2, s2, P3, s3, P4, P5, P6, s6, ADP, MP, ABP, 55, fig. 27) designated and illustrated two lectotypes (EABP), with additional spiral threads on and of fossil species which can be reasonably compared between cords. Spiral cords extending as short, with the new species: Murex ejectus Martin, 1895 blunt open spines on varices. P1 bearing broadest (Figs. 10–12) and M. lebacanus Martin, 1895 (Figs. Short Notes 73

Figs. 3–7. Murex huangi n. sp., Pengchiayu Island, Northeast Taiwan, between 80 and 200 m. 3–4. Holotype 77.5 mm SL, MNHN 22817. 5. Paratype 53.8 mm SL, RH. 6–7. Paratype 69.5 mm SL, RH. Figs. 8–9. Murex lebacanus Martin, 1895, Tji Mantjeurih, near Rajah, Bantam, Java, Pliocene, 42.9 mm SL, lectotype RGM 9649. 10–12. Murex ejectus Martin, 1895, Kalang, Anjar, Java, Pliocene, 38.3 mm SL, lectotype RGM 9655.

8–9). M. lebacanus is considered a synonym of M. Murex huangi n. sp. differs from M. ejectus in occa Sowerby, 1834 by Ponder & Vokes (1988: 52) having a broader, comparatively larger and more which may be correct, although M. lebacanus massive shell with a more strongly sloping differs in having fewer and shorter spines. The subsutural ramp. It also has more numerous and morphology of the protoconch of M. lebacanus is shorter spines on the last teleoconch whorl and on unknown. Murex huangi n. sp. differs in having a the siphonal canal, Murex ejectus having a long, broader and heavier shell with more strongly broad and acute shoulder spine and only two shouldered teleoconch whorls, broader and lower additional, broad, shorter abapical spines, probably axial varices, more numerous tertiary cords and P3 and P5. threads, fewer and broader intervarical axial nodes Murex lebacanus (as junior synonym of M. occa) and different, more obvious primary and secondary and M. ejectus are both included in the Murex cords and spines. scolopax group by Ponder & Vokes (1988) but no 74 VENUS 69 (1–2), 2010 other species of that group is close to the new Peninsula. Fauna of Taiwan mollusk fossils species. 1(2): 67–174. National Museum of Natural Murex huangi n. sp. also resembles the species Science, Taichung. (in Chinese) of the Murex brevispina group, namely M. Lai, K. Y. 1977. Murex shells of Taiwan. Bulletin of the Malacological Society of China 4: 31–40. brevispina brevispina Lamarck, 1822, M. brevispina Lai, K. Y. 1987. Marine Gastropods of Taiwan (2), macgillivrayi Dohrn, 1862, M. brevispina senilis 116 pp. Taiwan Museum, Taipei. Jousseaume, 1874 and M. brevispina ornamentalis Merle, D. 1999. La radiation des Muricidae Ponder & Vokes, 1988. However, the shells in that (Gastropoda : Neogastropoda) au Paléogène: group differ from M. huangi in having a spineless or approche phylogénétique et évolutive. vi +499 nearly spineless and long siphonal canal, a longer pp. Unpublished thesis, Muséum national and narrower labral tooth, a strongly erect d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. columellar lip and fewer secondary and tertiary Merle, D. 2001. The spiral cords and the internal denticles of the outer lip in the Muricidae: cords and threads. terminology and methodological comments. The 19 volumes of a synthesis on fossil molluscs Novapex 2: 69–91. of Taiwan (in Chinese) were also checked. Only one Neubert, E. 1998. Six new species of marine (Hu & Tao, 1991) contains the description of a new gastropods from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Muricidae, actually a species of Nipponotrophon. Aden. Fauna of Arabia 17: 463–472. All other volumes including species of Muricidae Parth, M. 1990. A new muricid species from only deal with already known and described species. Somalia. La Conchiglia 22: (256): 40–42. Parth, M. 1994. From the West Pacific, Murex salomonensis & M. philippinensis nn.spp. Acknowledgements: I am very thankful to Ie- Conchiglia 26 (270): 23–28. Feng Fu and May-Yi Cheng (Taiwan) who sent me Ponder, W. F. & Vokes, E. H. 1988. Revision of the these specimens for study and kindly donated this Indo-West Pacific fossil and Recent species of material. I am also particularly thankful to Ie-Feng Murex s.s. and Haustellum (Mollusca: Fu for his very helpful collaboration in searching Gastropoda: Muricidae). Records of the and scanning literature of Taiwanese fossil Australian Museum, supplement (8): 1–160. molluscs. I am also grateful to Frank Wesselingh (Accepted July 2, 2010) (National Museum of Natural History, Naturalis, Leiden, The Netherlands) for the loan of fossil types, to Philippe Bouchet (Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris) for information and literature about Taiwanese fossil mollusks, to 台湾産アッキガイ属の新種の記載 Thierry Backeljau and Rose Sablon (Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique) for their Roland Houart collaboration in many ways and to John Wolff, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.A, for checking the English text. Finally, I thank two anonymous 要旨 referees for their useful comments. 台湾北東沖の彭佳嶼水深 80～200 mからアッキ References ガイ属の新種 Murex (Murex) huangi n. sp.を記載した。得られた 4個体の標本はいずれもエビ底曳き Houart, R. 2010. Description of a new species from 網で得られた死殻であった。本種はこれまで知ら Indonesia in the Murex scolopax group (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Muricidae) and れている同属のすべての現生種とは明瞭に異な comments about Murex (Murex) ternispina るが，インドネシア・ジャワ島の鮮新世から記 Lamarck, 1822 from East Java. Novapex 11: 載された 2種 Murex ejectus Martin, 1895と M. 29–35. Houart, R. & Dharma, B. 2001. Description of lebacanus Martin, 1895にはやや近似する。しかし， Murex (Murex) hystricosus n. sp. (Gastropoda, 本種の殻はより太く，重厚で，肩が張り，異なる Muricidae) from Sumatra, Indian Ocean. 彫刻を持つことで区別できる。また，台湾の化石 Novapex 2: 31–36. Hu, C. H. & Lee, X. F. 1991. Fossil molluscs from 貝類のモノグラフ（ Hu & Tao, 1991）にも比較され the Pliocene marls of Mt. Maan, Henchun るべき種類は見当たらない。