Limatium sp.

Strong, Ellen E. & Bouchet, Philippe, 2018, A rare and unusual new bittiine genus with two new species from the South Pacific (Cerithiidae, Gastropoda), ZooKeys 758, pp. 1-18 : 9

Limatium sp. Fig. 3I, J, M

Material examined.

PHILIPPINES: MUSORSTOM 3 Stn. DR117, W of Mindoro, 12°31'N, 120°39'E, 92-97 m, 1 lv (MNHN IM-2014-6930, Fig. 3I). VANUATU: SANTO 2006 stn. DS103, W of Tutuba I., Vunatavoa Bay, 15°34.1'S, 167°16'E, 10-80 m, 2 dd (MNHN IM-2014-6931, IM-2014-6932, Fig. 3J, M).

Remarks.

Three specimens (Fig. 3I, J, M) show an overall resemblance to L. aureum , but differ in a manner that we think they are not conspecific. The three specimens from the Philippines and Vanuatu are subadults; their color pattern does not have the articulated white and golden honey spiral cords. The specimens from Vanuatu have a single cord on the base versus five in the specimen from the Philippines, and these two specimens may not even be conspecific. The protoconch of a Vanuatu specimen (Fig. 3M) is distinctly smaller than in L. aureum , consisting of only two whorls, with fewer and shorter axial riblets on the ramp, and simpler, less ornamented spiral keels. No specimen of this or any other Limatium has been obtained in the Philippines despite extensive sampling by lumun-lumun for the commercial shell trade (G. Poppe and S. Tagaro, pers. comm.).