Rochefortina sandwichensis ( Smith, 1885 )

Oliver, P. Graham & Holmes, Anna, 2004, Cryptic bivalves with descriptions of new species from the Rodrigues lagoon, Journal of Natural History 38 (23), pp. 3175-3227 : 3217-3218

Rochefortina sandwichensis ( Smith, 1885)

( figures 141–144 )

Ervilia sandwichensis Smith, 1885: 81 , pl. 25, figure 5, 5b .

Rochefortina sandwichensis ( Smith, 1885) in Hayami and Kase, 1993: 90, figures 311–320.

Material examined. Three valves from Grand Pate´, off Port Mathurin, shell gravel, 17 m, NMW.Z.2001.061.00041.

Remarks. Comparison with earlier descriptions and especially with the figures in Hayami and Kase (1993) leaves no doubt that the Rodrigues shells are of this species. This species is now shown to have a remarkable geographic range from the Mascarene Islands north into the Red Sea ( Zuschin and Oliver, 2003) and across the Indo-Pacific to Hawaii. Although we do not dispute its occurrence in caves ( Hayami and Kase, 1993), we believe that it has a much wider habitat range in coral-associated soft sediments.

ARCTICOIDEA TRAPEZIIDAE Genus Coralliophaga Blainville, 1824 Type species: Chama coralliophaga Gmelin, 1791 .

Figures

FIGS. 141–144. Rochefortina sandwichensis, NMW.Z.2001.061.00041: (141) external right valve (MontageTM); (142) external right valve (SEM); (143) prodissoconch view (SEM); (144) sculpture (SEM).

FIGS. 1–7. (1–5) Acar marsupialis n. sp. (1, 2) Holotype, NMW.Z.2001.061.00004: (1) external (MontageTM); (2) internal (SEM). (3–5) Paratype, NMW.Z.2001.061.00005 (SEM): (3) external; (4) internal; (5) prodissoconch. (6, 7) Acar plicata Rodrigues, NMW.Z.2000.086.00034 (SEM): (6) external left valve; (7) prodissoconch.