Episiphon subtorquatum (Fischer, 1871)

Scarabino, Victor, 2008, New species and new records of scaphopods from New Caledonia, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 215-268 : 238-240

Episiphon subtorquatum (Fischer, 1871)

Fig. 1t

FIG. 1. a, Dentalium debitusae n. sp., holotype MNHN 20065 (21 mm),Norfolk Ridge,SMIB 8 stns DW 146-147. b-c, Dentalium malekulaensis n. sp., holotype MNHN 20067 (27 mm), Vanuatu, MUSORSTOM 8 stn DW 1065; c, detail of sculpture. d, Dentalium sp. 1 , MNHN (22.6 mm), New Caledonia, EXPÉDITION MONTROUZIER stn 1286. e, Dentalium sp.2 , MNHN (24.6 mm), Loyalty Islands,LIFOU 2000 stn 1469. f, Dentalium (?) sp.3, MNHN (20 mm), Loyalty Islands, LIFOU 2000 stn 1413. g, Paradentalium kabati n. sp., holotype MNHN 20072 (50 mm), Vanuatu, MUSORSTOM 8 stn DW 1048. h, Antalis maestratii n. sp., holotype MNHN 20083 (61.1 mm), New Caledonia, BATHUS 4 stn DW 908. i, Antalis alis n. sp., holotype MNHN 20080 (86.4 mm), Norfolk Ridge, BATHUS 2 stn DW 720. j, Antalis albatrossae n. sp., holotype MNHN 20076 (47.3 mm), New Caledonia, BATHUS 1 stn CP 708. k-l, Antalis phaneum ( Dall, 1895) , holotype USNM 107025, near Sandwich Islands,Hawaii, Is., Albatross stn 3476,298 fms (545 m); l, detail of sculpture. m, Compressidentalium legoffi n. sp., holotype MNHN 20092 (19.7 mm), Norfolk Ridge, SMIB 8 stns DW 193-196. n, Compressidentalium harasewychi n. sp., holotype MNHN 20089 (27 mm), New Caledonia, BATHUS 4 stn DW 919. o, Fustiaria steineri n. sp., holotype MNHN 20099 (38.5 mm), New Caledonia, BATHUS 4 stn DW 914. p, Fustiaria mariae n. sp., holotype MNHN 20094 (39.2 mm), New Caledonia, BATHUS 4 stn DW 953. q, Laevidentalium (?) sominium Okutani, 1964 , MNHN (46 mm), New Caledonia, BATHUS 2 stn CP 743. r, “ Dentalium ” subrectum Jeffreys, 1883 , holotype USNM 176124 (16.9 mm), Philippines, North Pacific Ocean. s, Episiphon virgula (Hedley, 1903) , USNM 251992 “SC Verco”, off Neptune Island, S. Australia, 104 fms (190 m). t, Episiphon subtorquatum (Fischer, 1871) , New Caledonia, EXPÉDITION MONTROUZIER stn 1264, details of sculpture near the apex. u, Omniglypta cerina (Pilsbry, 1905) , MNHN, Taiwan, TAIWAN 2000 stn CP 61, details of sculpture.

Episiphon subtorquatum - Scarabino 1995: 286, figs 91, 95c, f. Material cited: 1 lot (2 spms) from New Caledonia, live in 42- 45 m. Omniglypta anulosum - Lamprell & Healy 1998: 104, figs 105E, 109A, 110.

NEW MATERIAL EXAMINED. — New Caledonia proper. 8 m, 4 dd (Fig. 1t) . — Koumac. EXPÉDITION MONTROUZIER: BATHUS 1: stn DW 674, Grande Passe de Touho, 20°49’S, stn 1300, 20°35.6‘S, 164°15.2‘, 10-11 m, 1 dd; stn 1306, 165°19’E, 105-110 m, 4 lv . — Touho. EXPÉDITION 20°39.1‘S, 164°12.4‘E, 11-13 m, 1 lv; stn 1313, 20°38.8‘S MONTROUZIER: stn 1251, 20 °46.0‘- 20°46.5‘S, 165°13‘- 164°15.6‘E, 33-38 m, 2 lv, 8 dd; stn 1314, 20°39.8‘S 164°15.3‘, 165°14.5‘E, 6-15 m, 1 lv, 1 dd; stn 1264, 20°44.5‘S, 165°15.9‘E, 30-63 m, 2 dd; stn 1322, 20°45.2‘S, 164°15.2‘E, 53-71 m, 1 lv .

DISTRIBUTION. — Global distribution: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Zanzibar, 21-210 m ( Ludbrook 1954; as D. sewelli ), Madagascar, Indonesia, northern Australia and New Caledonia; live in 6-110 m, shells down to 201 m. Distribution in the New Caledonian region : east coast: Grande Passe de Touho and Touho; west coast: Koumac; live in 13-105 m.

REMARKS. — I consider the inclusion of E. subtorquatum in Omniglypta by Lamprell & Healy (1998) to be incorrect. Omniglypta cerina (Pilsbry, 1905) (the type species of Omniglypta ) has a thin and fragile shell, with a dull not shiny surface, in contrast to E. subtorquatum . The sculpture of O. cerina consists of close, fine, regularly spaced encircling wrinkles (Fig. 1u) throughout the length of the shell, while E. subtorquatum has this encircling sculpture only on the apical area (Fig. 1t). I also consider that the absence of an apical callus and projecting pipe (which most Episiphon species have) in E. subtorquatum is not enough to place it in Omniglypta . A similar absence of these characters is observed in E. sowerbyi (Guilding, 1834) , a quite similar species from the Caribbean region. Even within lots, some specimens of E. sowerbyi have the callus and others do not. Also, the radulae of the two genera differ, as can be seen in Scarabino (1995: figs 102g, h) and in Fig. 5a of the present paper for Omniglypta cerina and in Scarabino (1995: figs 95 c, f) for Episiphon subtorquatum . The rachidian of O. cerina is slightly curved in section and the anterior margin and internal face are irregular; the lateral teeth are regular, with their heads poorly defined, and with 3 short isolated cusps and a finely granulated anterior margin; the marginal teeth are long and nearly straight. The rachidian of Episiphon is short and more curved in section, with 2 prominences on the anterior margin; the laterals have a more clearly defined head with a major central cusp and 3 or 4 secondary ones; and the marginals are short and sinusoidal in shape. Omniglypta cerina is common in the China Sea and Lamprell & Healy (1998) reported it from northern to northwestern Australia.