Babelomurex virginiae Kosuge & Oliverio, 2004

Oliverio, Marco, 2008, Coralliophilinae (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) from the southwest Pacific, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 481-586 : 532-534

Babelomurex virginiae Kosuge & Oliverio, 2004

Figs 76, 176, 217

Babelomurex virginiae Kosuge & Oliverio, 2004: 149 , figs 5-6.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype (lv) MNHN 2190 and 9 paratypes (dd) MNHN 2202-2209 .

TYPE LOCALITY. — Norfolk Ridge , 23°42’S, 167°59’E, 338 m [SMIB 3: stn DW 18] .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — New Caledonia proper. LAGON: dd (paratype MNHN 2207 ) .— SMIB 8: stns DW154 to DW159, stn 395, Grand Récif Sud , 22°48’S, 167°08’E, 313 m, 1 dd. 24°46’S, 168°08’E, 235-300 m, 1 dd (paratype MNHN 2209 ). Norfolk Ridge. SMIB 3: stn DW 8, 24°45’S, 168°08’E, 233 m, — LITHIST: stn CP 17, 23°41’S, 168°01’E, 247-281 m, 1 dd 1 dd (paratype MNHN 2202 ); stn DW 18, 23°42’S, 167°59’E, (paratype MNHN 2208 ) .

338 m, 1 lv (holotype MNHN 2190 , Fig. 217) . — SMIB 4: Loyalty Ridge. SMIB 5: stn DW 93, 22°20’S, 168°42’E, 255 m, 1 stn DW 41, 24°44’S, 168°09’E, 230-235 m, 1 dd (paratype dd. MUSORSTOM 6 stn DW 407, 20°41’S, 167°07’E, 360 m, 1 MNHN 2203 ); stn DW 44, 24°46’S, 168°08’E, 270-300 m, 1 dd; stn DW 471, 21°08’S, 167°54’E, 460 m, 1 dd (Fig. 217) .

dd (paratype MNHN 2204 ) . — SMIB 5: stn DW 75, 23°41’S, New Hebrides Arc.VOLSMAR: stn DW 17, Hunter and Matthew 168°01’E, 270 m, 1 dd (paratype MNHN 2205 ); stn DW 77, Islands, 22°23’S, 171°41’E, 260-300 m, 1 dd .

23°41’S, 168°01’E, 270 m, 2 dd (paratypes MNHN 2206 , Fig. Fiji. BORDAU 1: stn DW 1469, 19°40’S, 178°10’W, 314-377 m, 76) . — CHALCAL 2: stn DW 71, 24°42’S, 168°10’E, 230 m, 1 2 dd; stn DW 1473, 19°43’E, 178°10’W, 270-288, 1 dd juv.

DISTRIBUTION. — Southern New Caledonia and the area between the Loyalty and Norfolk Ridges and Fiji, live in 338 m, empty shells in 230-460 m.

REMARKS. — Protoconch of 2.3+ conical whorls, 630+ Μm high, 760 Μm wide at base. Protoconch-I of about 1+ whorls, sculptured with pustules over the entire visible surface. Protoconch-II of about 1.3 whorls, with 2 spiral keels,

FIGS 73-87. Teleoconchs of Babelomurex . 73, B. armatus (G.B. Sowerby [third of the name], 1912), MUSORSTOM 6 stn CP 400, H 27.0 mm. 74, B. shingomarumai (Kosuge, 1981) , Fiji, BORDAU 1 stn DW 1472, H 16.2 mm. 75, B. purpuraterminus ( Kosuge, 1979) , SMIB 5 stn DW 95, H 14.1 mm. 76, B. virginiae Kosuge & Oliverio, 2004 , paratype MNHN 2206, SMIB 5 stn DW 77, H 20 mm. 77, B. natalabies n. sp., holotype MNHN 20841, CHALCAL 2 stn DW 81, H 16.4 mm. 78-80, Babelomurex pallox n. sp. 78, holotype MNHN 20220, SMIB 8 stn DW 159, H 14.2 mm; 79, paratype MNHN 20222, SMIB 8 stn DW 154-159, H 16.7 mm; 80, paratype MNHN 20231, BERYX 11 stn DW 18, H 24.8 mm. 81, B. nakayasui ( Shikama, 1970) , SMIB 8 stn DW 159, H 16.7 mm. 82, B. cf. tuberosus ( Kosuge, 1980) , SMIB 8 stn DW 181, H 9.9 mm. 83, B. tosanus (Hirase, 1908) , MUSORSTOM 8 stn CP 970, H 29.1 mm. 84, B. lischkeanus (Dunker, 1882) , MUSORSTOM 6 stn CP 467, H 41.5 mm. 85, 86, B. spinosus (Hirase, 1908) . 85, MUSORSTOM 6 CP 454, H 15.4 mm; 86, MUSORSTOM 6 stn 456, H 17.7 mm. 87, B. princeps ( Melvill, 1912) , MUSORSTOM 8 stn CP 1085, H 40.3 mm.

sculptured with subsutural prosocline threads, and 2 series of opisthocline threads between the keels and above the suture. Threads tending to fuse, to give rise to opisthocline, nodulose collabral ribs.