Turris crispa ( Lamarck, 1816 )

Kilburn, Richard N., Fedosov, Alexander E. & Olivera, Baldomero M., 2012, Revision of the genus Turris Batsch, 1789 (Gastropoda: Conoidea: Turridae) with the description of six new species, Zootaxa 3244 (1), pp. 1-58 : 19-21

Turris crispa ( Lamarck, 1816)

Plate 10 , figs A–M

Pleurotoma crispa Lamarck, 1816: 8 , pl. 439, fig. 4; Lamarck 1822: 95; Weinkauff 1875: 9, pl. 1, figs 1–2. Type loc.: not given.

Turris crispa ; Hedley 1922: 215; Hasegawa et al. 2000: 631, pl. 314, fig. 61.

Turris crispa crispa ; Powell 1964: 330, pl. 181, figs 9–12; Powell 1966: text-fig. C41 (radula); Cernohorsky 1972: 182, pl. 53, fig. 2; Kira 1972: 100, pl. 36, fig. 5; Ladd 1982: 63, pl. 19, figs 6–7; Wilson 1994: 194, pl. 38, figs 5 a–b, 10 a–b.

Turris crispa ; Vera-Peláez et al. 2000: pl. 3, figs 7–9 (protoconch), pl. 7, figs 11–13; Li & Li 2007: 64 , pl. 1, figs 2–3.

Turris dollyae Olivera, 2000: 298 , pl. 1, specimen 2, pls 2, 6; Olivera, Sysoev, 2008: pl. 681, fig. 1; Dharma 2005: pl. 41, fig. 9. Type loc.: Tabaco Bay, Albay, Philippines, 50– 100 m. Syn. Nov.

DESCRIPTION: Shell very elongate and acuminately fusiform (b/l 0.22–0.23, a/l 0.42–0.50 (see below for Australian examples), spire angle ca 20–22º), siphonal canal very long and straight, sometimes forming a slight fasciole with a slit-like false umbilicus; whorls gently and more or less evenly rounded, with peripheral cord barely or not projecting. Anal sinus deep and linear, widening at the opening.

Surface dull and roughened by lamellate collabral threads, which may form scales in the interstices; main spiral cords (particularly the peripheral one) with microscopic spiral threads. Early whorls with three equal cords, the median one granulose. Subsutural cord narrow, bearing a strong, broadly angular ridge and 1–2 thinner ridges above or two subequal ridges. Sulcus moderately wide, flatly concave with gently sloping sides, bearing 3–4 low threads. Sinus cord moderately raised, top concave to shallowly bifid, sloping, often with lunulate growth lines. Base of spire whorls with 3 angular cords, the upper one strongest (peripheral), the anterior pair equal to one another. Base of last whorl with ca 21 ridges, upper 3 angular and wide-set, those on rostrum even and relatively close; wider intervals with 2 – 4 fine intermediary threads. Finer threads rendered scaly by collabral threads, particularly in subsutural area.

White to brownish-white, spiral ridges with brown or black axial bars or lines, often more or less aligned to form wavy axial lines, particularly in juveniles.

Maximum length 123 mm.

Protoconch cyrtoconoid, of 3.0–3.5 whorls, smooth initially, with opisthocyrt riblets on last whorl, base ca 0.80 mm wide, termination concave; colour deep brown (partly after Vera-Peláez et al. 2000).

DISTRIBUTION: Southern Natal and Western Australia north through the Indian Ocean to west coast of Thailand and Malasia, and through the Western Pacific to China, Japan and Fiji, and south to New Caledonia; lives in clean or muddy sand, sometimes amongst marine grass, intertidal to 60 m.

TYPES: P. c r is p a: holotype MHNG 1097/68 (with Lamarck’s label); annotated “Oc. indien”. T. dollyae : holotype PNM , paratypes in NHMUK, AMNH and USNM ; paratype 13 NMSA L5589 .

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED: VIETNAM: off Nha Trang, N. Thach ( NMSA L8198) . PHILIPPINES: Aliguay Is., Mindanao, 25–40 m, BO colln ; Sogod, 250 m, Aliguay Is, Mindanao, 80–150 m, and Olango Is., 10–25 m (Guido Poppe colln) ; Bogo, Cebu ( NMSA L5589: BO, paratype 3 of Turris dollyae ) ; Sogod, Cebu (BO colln) ; Matanos, Samal Is., Davao Gulf, Mindanao, 80–130 fath. [146–238 m] ( NMSA L8202: BO) . THAILAND: Phromthep Cape, Phuket Is., ca 15 m ( NMSA L8107: S. Patamakanthan) . AUSTRALIA: Port Hedland, N.W. Australia ( NMSA J5069: Rinkens) ; off Cape Moreton, trawled in ”deep water” ( NMSA: J5870: A. & B. Boorman) . NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE: Conducia Bay, W. of Choca, littoral ( NMSA: H2443: K. Grosch) . “Southern Mozambique” (BO colln). MADAGASCAR: 15°01.8’S, 46° 58.6E, 57-69m ( MNHN) ; SOUTH AFRICA: S. E. of Kosi Bay, northern Zululand, 50 m, fine sand ( NMSA D9674: RK et al,) ; off Hully Point, northern Zululand, 60 m, shell rubble ( NMSA D6707: RK et al) ; N.E. of Leven Point, northern Zululand, 42–50 m, sand with pennatulids ( NMSA E4433: RK at al.) ; off Phumula, southern Natal, 36 m, living in sand on low profile reef, unusually dark specimen ( NMSA W7498: M. Wallace) ; NEW CALEDONIA: 22°58’S, 166°56’E, 26m, MNHN ; 22°50’S, 166°51’E, 32m, MNHN ; 20°09’S, 163°53’E, 23m, MNHN ; CORAL SEA: 19°01’S, 158°32’E, 58m, MNHN .

REMARKS: Powell (1964) treated the widely-distributed Turris crispa ( Lamarck, 1816) as a polytypic species. No statement was offered in explanation of this action, other than the apparent allopatry and similarity of the four taxa there referred. The only shared character of possible significance is the presence of relatively strong collabral threads, although these occur also in species such as Turris amicta ( E. A. Smith, 1877) . Even if treated as a synapomorphy this sculpture cannot be used as a species-level character, as several of the so-called subspecies are parapatric/partially sympatric. Thus Turris crispa crispa and T. crispa yeddoensis ( Jousseaume, 1883) are sympatric in parts of southern Japan and reportedly ( Vera-Peláez et al. 2000) in the Philippines. At least one other member of the species-complex, Turris grandis (Gray in Griffith & Pidgeon, 1833), is sympatric with T. crispa in Vietnam and the Philippines. Consequently, it is preferable to regard each of these taxa as a full species. Turris dollyae Olivera, 2000 , is indistinguishable from T. crispa (paratypes compared with photographs of the holotype of the latter and with specimens).

Most available Australian specimens (Pl. 10, figs H–I) lack precise data, but appear to indicate distinct regional variation; they are all very small (largest measured 54.1 mm) and very pale (yellowish-white or “biscuit-colour” with small and faint brownish marks). They also differ in proportions (e.g. b/l 0.25–0.27, a/l 0.40–0.42) and shorter siphonal canal (equal in length to length of rest of aperture, instead of distinctly longer than it as in typical T. crispa ). Such a specimen is illustrated by Wilson (1994: pl. 38, figs 5 a–b); however, his pl. 39, figs 10 a–b appears to show a typical specimen, so obviously much more Australian material is needed.

Figures

PLATE 10. Turris crispa (Lamark, 1816): A, B—Holotype of Pleurotoma crispa, locality unknown, MHNG, 1097/68, 55.5 x 13.0 mm; C, D—off Nha Trang, Vietnam, NMSA L8198, N. Thach, 110.7 x 24.5 mm; E—Southern Mozambique, 120 m, BO colln, 91.0 x 23.0 mm,; F—93.1 x 23.9 mm, Southern Mozambique, 40–50 m, BO colln. G—36.3 x 9.3 mm, Noumea, New Caledonia, NMSA K5775; H, I—Cape Moreton, Queensland, deep water, NMSA J5870, 54.7 x 14.2 mm; J, K—Holotype of Turris dollyae Olivera, 2000, Tabaco Bay, Luzon, Philippines, PNMM-40066, 119.0 x 25.6 mm; L—Sogod, Cebu, Philippines, BO colln, 85.7 x 20.3mm; M—Aliguay, Zamboanga, Philippines, 24–50 m, BO colln, 77.1 x 17.2 mm.