Fustiaria electra, Scarabino & Scarabino, 2010

Scarabino, Victor & Scarabino, Fabrizio, 2010, A new genus and thirteen new species of Scaphopoda (Mollusca) from the tropical Pacific Ocean, Zoosystema 32 (3), pp. 409-423 : 411-412

Fustiaria electra n. sp.

( Fig. 1 H-K)

TYPE MATERIAL. — Fiji. BORDAU 1, stn DW 1469, Lau Ridge (Vatoa), 19°40’S, 178°10’W, 314-377 m, 1 lv holo-

type ( MNHN 22775 ) ; 1 lv paratype ( MNHN 22776 ). — Stn DW 1472, Lau Ridge (Vatoa), 19°40’S, 178°10’W, 262-266 m, 2 dd paratypes ( MNHN 22777 ) .

TYPE LOCALITY. — Fiji, Lau Rigde (Vatoa), 19°40’S, 178°10’W, 314-377 m ( BORDAU 1, stn DW 1469).

ETYMOLOGY. — From the Latin electrum meaning “amber”, highlighting the colour of the shell.

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Fiji. BORDAU 1, stn DW 1469, Lau Ridge (Vatoa), 19°40’S, 178°10’W, 314-377 m, 3 dd. — Stn DW 1471, Lau Ridge (Vatoa), 19°40’S, 178°10’W, 280-296 m, 2 dd.

Tonga. BORDAU 2, stn DW 1532, seamount, 21°44’S, 175°20’W, 322- 322 m, 1 dd. — Stn DW 1535, seamount, 21°43’S, 175°18’W, 268 m, 1 lv, 4 dd. — Stn DW 1587, Vava‘u group, 18°37’S, 173°54’W, 309-400 m, 4 dd. — Stn DW 1634, seamount, 21°45’S, 175°20’W, 321-322 m, 1 dd.

Wallis Island. MUSORSTOM 7, stn DW 601, 13°19’S, 176°17’W, 350 m, 1 dd. — Stn DW 610, 13°21’S, 176°09’W, 286 m, 1 dd.

DISTRIBUTION. — Fiji, Wallis Island and Tonga. Live at 268 m, shells to 350 m.

DESCRIPTION

Shell 28.6 mm long, solid, polished, slowly tapering and gently curved. Entirely coloured dark-yellow to orange. Apex with short projection of internal wall, oblique on dorsal side, a notch on dorsal side and a long regular slit in the ventral side. Shell section circular.

Measurements of holotype:L 28.6, W2.8, w 1.05, arc 2 at 11 from the apex

REMARKS

Fustiaria electra n. sp. most closely resembles F.caesura (Colman, 1958) (holotype AMS C62230, examined) from eastern Australia, the other completely coloured Fustiaria species described from the area, which is clearly more tapering than F. electra n. sp. (see Scarabino 1995: fig. 88g; Lamprell & Healy 1998). Also more tapering are the other three Fustiaria species that exhibit a long ventral slit in the tropical Pacific: F. nipponica (Yokoyama, 1922) , the commonest species, which is translucent white and prefers shallow water; F. mariae Scarabino, 2008 , which is coloured only on the apical sector; and F. steineri Scarabino, 2008 , which is white and polished, characterized by the different wall thickness of the dorsal and ventral sides, and which tapers clearly more rapidly than the other species (see Scarabino 1995: fig. 88e; 2008).