Coralliophila fearnleyi ( Emerson & D’Attilio, 1965 )

Oliverio, Marco, 2008, Coralliophilinae (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) from the southwest Pacific, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 481-586 : 492-493

Coralliophila fearnleyi ( Emerson & D’Attilio, 1965)

Fig. 6

Latiaxis (Babelomurex) fearnleyi Emerson & D’Attilio, 1965: 101-103 , pl. 10, figs 1-8.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype AMNH 111976 , figured by Kosuge & Suzuki (1985: pl. 31, fig. 7).

TYPE LOCALITY. — Cooktown (1 nautical mile NW of Dawson’s Reef ), Queensland, Australia .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — New Caledonia proper. LAGON: stn 561, Grand Récif Sud , 22°42’S, 166°59’E, 48 m, 1 dd (Fig. 6); stn 636, Secteur de Yaté, 21°59’S, 166°43’E, 34-40 m, 1 dd .

DISTRIBUTION. — Western Pacific, from southern Japan (Kii Peninsula and southwards, in 20-100 m; Higo et al. 2001), Philippines (Kosuge & Suzuki 1985) and Australia, subtidal ( Cernohorsky 1978). Now also New Caledonia, empty shells in 40- 48 m.

REMARKS. — This species (and the next one) is often included in Babelomurex because of its keeled periphery with weakly pronounced spines, although others (e.g. Tsuchiya 2000) place them in Coralliophila s.l. It is provisionally included here in Coralliophila s.l. Specimens from the Philippines have a multispiral protoconch, indicating planktotrophic development.