Calliostoma hassler Clench & Aguayo, 1939

(Fig. 2 A–G)

Synonymy see Dornellas & Simone (2013). Complement:

Calliostoma hassler Clench & Aguayo, 1939: 191, pl. 28, fig. 3; Abbott, 1974: 46; Massemin et al., 2009: 84, pl. p83; Dornellas, 2012: 104, figs 13–15; Dornellas & Simone, 2013: 285, figs 24–25, 44, 51–53, 91–98.

Astele (Leiotrochus) hassler: Macsotay & Campos, 2001: 35, pl. 13, figs 9–10.

Calliostoma sp.: Longo et al., 2014: 2, fig. 4F.

Type material. Holotype: MCZ 104554 . Paratypes: MCZ 104555, 1 sh; MFP, 1 sh; all from type locality.

Type locality. Brazil, off Cabo Frio, 75 miles east of Rio de Janeiro, 64 m (20/ii/1872) .

Distribution. From Paria, northern Venezuela, to southeastern Brazil, live specimens from 20–100 m (Macsotay & Campos 2001; Dornellas & Simone 2013).

Habitat. On bottoms alongside bryozoans and coralline algae (Clench & Turner, 1960).

Material examined. Brazil: Espírito Santo: off São Mateus, Jaseur Bank, 20°27’S, 35°54’W, MD55 sta. DC34, 54 m, MNHN, 1 sh (15/v/1987); Vitoria Bank, 20°32’S, 38°10’W, MD55 sta. DC 22, 52 m, MNHN, 1 sh; Davis Bank, 20°39’S, 34°41’W, MD55 sta. DC40, 60 m, MNHN, 1 sh; Columbia Bank, 20°41’S, 32°12’W, MD55 sta. DC47, 94– 105 m, MNHN, 2 sh (19/v/1987); Dogaressa Bank, 20°54’S, 34°01’W, MD55 sta. DC42, 60 m, MNHN, 1 sh (17/v/1987); Rio de Janeiro: off Cabo de São Tomé, 21°37’S, 40°18’W, MD55 sta. DC15, 37 m, MNHN, 7 sh (10/v/1987). Additional non-MD55 material: Brazil: Rio de Janeiro: types .

Measurements. 7¾ whorls, H= 25.8 mm, D= 25.7 mm (largest whole specimen).

Remarks. The single well-preserved adult individual from the MD55 assemblage (Fig. 2 A–B) is remarkably similar to the type specimens in outline, sculpture, and coloration. In the original description, Clench & Aguayo (1939) emphasized the yellowish hue of the types owing to a probable color loss after extended exposure to preservative fluid. However, the material studied herein, as well as the specimens illustrated by Dornellas & Simone (2013), suggest otherwise: the variation in color from yellowish (Fig. 2 A–B) to strongly red (Fig. 2 D) seems to be the normal color range of this species. Moreover, even though most specimens have a homogeneous coloration, except for some faint, darker colored axial stripes and white blotches (Fig. 2 D–F), some have a mixed coloration, showing a reddish-orange hue on the first whorls that becomes yellowish towards the body whorl (Fig. 2 A). The protoconch (Fig. 2 G), however, seems to be invariably ivory white. The record from the MD55 sta. CB77 is the deepest known so far, though it consists of an empty, fragmentary shell.

There is a large conchological overlap between C. hassler and C. jujubinum (Gmelin, 1791), a species known from Mexico and the Caribbean. Wide-ranging calliostomatid species are not entirely uncommon (Clench & Turner 1960), and a possible synonymy between these two should be further analyzed. Massemin et al. (2009) reported both species occurring together in French Guyana.