Bathoxiphus kathieae, Scarabino & Scarabino, 2010

Scarabino, Victor & Scarabino, Fabrizio, 2010, A new genus and thirteen new species of Scaphopoda (Mollusca) from the tropical Pacific Ocean, Zoosystema 32 (3), pp. 409-423 : 418-419

Bathoxiphus kathieae n. sp.

( Fig. 4 A-E)

TYPE MATERIAL. — Solomon Islands. SALOMON 2, stn CP 2241, 06°55’S, 156°21’E, 815-1000 m, 1 lv holotype ( MNHN 22794 ) ; 2 lv paratypes ( MNHN 22795 ) ; 1 lv paratype ( BMNH) .

TYPE LOCALITY. — Solomon Islands, 06°55’S, 156°21’E, 815-1000 m (SALOMON 2, stn CP 2241).

ETYMOLOGY. — Named after Kathie Way (BMNH) for her kind reception and help during the study of the BMNH scaphopod collections.

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Solomon Islands. SALOMON 1, stn CP 1857, 09°40’S, 160°49’E, 720- 849 m, 11 dd. SALOMON 2, stn CP 2176, 09°09’S 158°59’E, 579- 875 m, 17 lv, 39 dd. — Stn CP 2182, 08°47’S, 157°38’E, 762-1060 m, 1 dd. — Stn CP 2241, 06°55’S, 156°21’E, 815-1000 m, 16 lv. — Stn CP 2253, 07°27’S, 156°15’E, 1200-1218 m, 2 dd. — Stn CP 2267, 07°48’S, 156°20’E, 590-600 m, 2 dd.

DISTRIBUTION. — Solomon Islands. Live at 815 m, shells at 590-1200 m.

DESCRIPTION

Shell 5.9 mm long, well curved, solid, translucent grey, shell section oval, notably compressed laterally. Longitudinally sculptured with 36 thin ribs beginning close to the smooth apical area, with secondary lines close to the apex and double in number. Dorsal and ventral shell walls at apical area thicker than lateral walls and reflected in the oblique apical callus. Radula: rachidian tooth high with anterior margin simple, rounded, folded inward. Heads of lateral teeth smooth, with 2 sharp primary cusps and, between them, 5 subequal secondary pointed curved cusps; marginal teeth long, slightly curved, with a wide contact area with lateral.

Measurements of holotype: L 5.9, W 0.8-06, w 0.3-0.2, arc 0.7 at 3.1 from apex.

REMARKS

Bathoxiphus kathieae n. sp. has unique characters for the genus, notably its sculpture and polished surface.The preapical callus is present but the lumen is larger than in other species of Bathoxiphus . The most similar species is B. inexpectatus Scarabino, 1995 , from New Caledonia, but this is longer (the holotype measures 11.9 mm) and has a smooth surface. A third species, B. soyomaruae Okutani, 1964 , widely distributed through Indo-Pacific bathyal and abyssal depths ( Scarabino 1995), is much longer, has some irregular longitudinal undulations, but not ribs, and is particularly compressed laterally. The radula of Bathoxiphus is very similar in the four species grouped under it and is therefore diagnostic. The radula of B. ensiculus (Jeffreys, 1877) from the Atlantic Ocean was illustrated by Chistikov (1983: pl. 1, fig. 1) and that of B. soyomaruae Okutani, 1964 , from the West Pacific, by Scarabino (1995: fig. 121b).