Conus (Splinoconus) queenslandis da Motta, 1984

Tenorio, Manuel J. & Puillandre, Nicolas, 2023, Revision of the deep-water cone snail fauna from New Caledonia (Gastropoda, Conoidea), European Journal of Taxonomy 896, pp. 1-134 : 107-109

Conus (Splinoconus) queenslandis da Motta, 1984

Figs 2 , 80–81

Conus queenslandis da Motta, 1984: 25 , fig. 3a–b.

Conus tribblei queenslandis – R̂ckel et al. 1995b: pl. 25 figs 13–15.

Kioconus tribblei queenslandis – Tucker & Tenorio 2013: 338.

Kioconus (Kioconus) queenslandis – Monnier et al. 2018a: 507.

Material examined

27 lots (37 specimens). See Supp. file 1.

Type material

Holotype AUSTRALIA • 121.6 mm; trawled between Lord Howe and Lady Musgrave Island, Queensland; ca 274 m depth; MHNG MOLL-138916 ( Fig. 80A ).

Figured material

NEW CALEDONIA • 62 mm; off N New Caledonia, Grand Passage, stn DW2940; 19°04′ S, 165°27′ E; 283‒ 270 m depth; 28 Apr. 2008; CONCALIS expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80B ) • 48.4 mm; off New Caledonia, stn DW149; 19º08′ S, 163º23′ E; 155 m depth; 14 Sep. 1985; MUSORSTOM 4 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80C ) • 49.2 mm; Mont Munida, off New Caledonia, stn CP4779; 23°02′ S, 168°17′ E; 270‒293 m depth; 28 Aug. 2016; KANACONO expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80D, M ) • 83.6 mm; off E New Caledonia, east coast, stn CP702; 20°56′ S, 165°35′ E; 591‒660 m depth; 18 Mar. 1993; BATHUS 1 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80E ) • 45 mm; Canal de l’Havannah , off New Caledonia, stn CP3788; 22°13′ S, 167°07′ E; 264‒273 m depth; 3 Sep. 2011; EXBODI expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80F ) • 86.6 mm; W Île des Pins , off New Caledonia, stn DW4651; 22°42′ S, 167°14′ E; 295‒300 m depth; 9 Aug. 2016; KANACONO expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80G ) • 69.6 mm; off E New Caledonia, stn CP713; 21º45′ S, 166º37′ E; 250 m depth; 19 Mar. 1993; BATHUS 1 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80H ) • 27.8 mm; Mont Antigonia, off New Caledonia, stn DW4768; 23°25′ S, 168°01′ E; 180‒210 m depth; 27 Aug. 2016; KANACONO expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80I ) • 87 mm; W Île des Pins , off New Caledonia, stn DW4701; 22°41′ S, 167°13′ E; 250‒ 225 m depth; 16 Aug. 2016; KANACONO expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80J ) • 22.3 mm; Mont Munida, off New Caledonia, stn DW4775; 23°03′ S, 168°17′ E; 140‒277 m depth; 28 Aug. 2016; KANACONO expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80K ) • 21 mm; Loyalty Islands, Lifou, Baie du Santal, off New Caledonia, stn DW1650; 20º54′ S, 167º01.7′ E; 120‒250 m depth; Nov. 2000; LIFOU 2000 expedition; MNHN ( Fig. 80L ) .

Geographical distribution and bathymetry

Queensland, Coral Sea and New Caledonia (Grand Passage area, Norfolk Ridge and Loyalty Islands), from 100 to 700 m deep, typically at depths between 100 and 300 m.

Remarks

Shell moderately large to large (maximum shell length 121.6 mm), narrowly conical to conical, with a low spire of concave outline and an angulate shoulder. Multispiral protoconch. Last whorl white to pale orange-brown, with occasional presence of rather diffuse broad spiral bands above and below midbody. Specimens with a nodulose last whorl ( Fig. 80I ) are known. Radular tooth ( Fig. 80M ) rather elongated, with the anterior and posterior sections subequal in length. Tooth serrated with 25 to 27 denticles arranged in one row, ending on a rounded cusp. Barb small. Blade rounded, almost indistinct, covering about 70% of the anterior section of the tooth. Strong basal spur present on top of the base. Conus (S.) queenslandis was considered a subspecies of Conus tribblei Walls, 1977 by R̂ckel et al. (1995b) based on similarities in conchological features. In the phylogeny ( Fig. 2 ), C. tribblei and C. queenslandis form two well-supported sister clades, at a distance consistent with a separation at the species level.

Figures

Fig. 2. Cox1-based Bayesian phylogeny. Posterior probabilities (> 0.95) and bootstrap values (> 90) from the ML analysis are provided for each node. Intraspecific relationships are collapsed. Subgenus names are indicated on the right.

Fig. 80. Conus (Splinoconus) queenslandis da Motta, 1984. A. Holotype, between Lord Howe and Lady Musgrave Island, Queensland, Australia, 150 fathoms, 121.6 mm (MHNG 983.576). B. Grand Passage, 283‒270 m depth, 62 mm. C. Off New Caledonia, 155 m depth, 48.4 mm.D. MontMunida, Norfolk Ridge, 270‒293 m depth, 49.2 mm (MNHN-IM-2013-66066). E. East coast, off New Caledonia, 591‒660 m depth, 83.6 mm. F. Canal de l’Havannah, off New Caledonia, 264‒273 m depth, 45 mm (MNHN- IM-2009-31352). G. W Île des Pins, 295‒300 m depth, 86.6 mm (MNHN-IM-2013-66051). H. E New Caledonia, 250 m depth, 69.6 mm. I. Mont Antigonia, Norfolk Ridge, 180‒210 m depth, 27.8 mm (MNHN-IM-2013-66071). J. W Île des Pins, 250‒225 m depth, 87 mm (MNHN-IM-2013-68770). K. Mont Munida, Norfolk Ridge, 140‒277 m depth, 22.3 mm (MNHN-IM-2013-66126). L. Baie du Santal, Loyalty Islands, 120‒250 m depth, 21 mm. M. Radular tooth of specimen D. Scale bars = 10 mm, unless otherwise stated.

Fig. 81. Bathymetric range and distribution map for Conus (Splinoconus) queenslandis da Motta, 1984. Red circles indicate the points where the species was collected.