Pupa tessellata (Reeve, 1842)

Valdés, Ángel, Feliciano, Kendall & Malaquias, Manuel A. E., 2023, The genus Pupa Röding, 1798 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Acteonidae) in New Caledonia with notes on Recent species, Zootaxa 5270 (3), pp. 471-506 : 489-490

Pupa tessellata (Reeve, 1842)

( Fig. 12 )

Tornatella tessellata Reeve, 1842a: 147 , pl. 206, fig. 3; 1842b: 60. Type locality: Sinum Persicum [= Persian Gulf].

? Tornatella alveola Souverbie in Souverbie & Montrouzier, 1863: 167, pl. 5, fig. 9. Type locality: Île Art, New Caledonia.

? Solidula thaanumi Pilsbry, 1917: 214–215 , text fig. 1. Type locality: Off Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, 11–15 m depth.

Type material. Tornatella tessellata — 4 syntypes, dry shells, 8–10 mm long ( NHMUK 196954); Tornatella alveola — Holotype, dry shell, 11 mm long (MHNBx 2004.TY.29); Solidula thaanumi — 2 syntypes, dry shells, 6–9 mm long ( ANSP 117069).

External morphology. Live animal unknow. Shell solid, narrow, elongate, widest at midlenght, with convex sides, rounded to elongate anterior end ( Fig. 12 ). Body whorl large, about 3/4–4/5 of total length. Spire conical, with 4 whorls. Suture channeled. Aperture elongate, wider anteriorly, narrowing gradually towards posterior end, ending at 1/5 of the posterior end of first whorl. Columellar margin thickened, slightly oblique, with large, channeled anterior fold starting near anterior end of aperture; smaller, simple posterior fold located close to aperture mid-length, separated from anterior fold by short gap. Apex of all specimens examined damaged, protoconch not observed. Sculpture composed of numerous punctuated spiral grooves. Punctuations conspicuous, irregular, oval, situated next to each other, often fused together, within each groove. Grooves separated by gaps wider than grooves. Shell color cream with irregular, often zigzagging pale brown to pink patches, separated by gaps similar in size to the patches.

Geographic range. Widespread in the Indo-Pacific region from East Africa to the West Pacific Ocean and possibly the Hawaiian Islands ( Kay, 1979; Yonow, 2008; Gosliner et al., 2018; present paper).

Remarks. Reeve (1842a, b) introduced the new species Tornatella tessellata Reeve, 1842 based on shells collected by Dr. Ŗppell from the Red Sea, although the habitat is indicated as Sinum Persicum [= Persian Gulf]. Reeve (1842a) described these shells as “finely striated in a transverse direction, and the interstices are neatly tessellated with numerous pale flesh-coloured square spots.” The examination of photographs of four syntypes (NHMUK 196954), three of them illustrated herein ( Figs. 12A–C ) revealed the shells of this species are characterized by having a cream to light brown background color with a checkered pattern of darker brown rectangular or irregular markings all over. The shells are solid, oval, widest mid-length, with convex sides, with a rounded anterior end and an elongate, conical spire with 3–4 whorls. None of the specimens here examined and sequenced match this description, therefore we assume that T. tessellata constitute a distinct species, currently regarded as a valid member of Pupa (e.g., Kay, 1979; Yonow, 2008; Gosliner et al., 2018).

Souverbie in Souverbie & Montrouzier (1863) introduced the name Tornatella alveola Souverbie, 1863 based on a single shell collected from Île Art, New Caledonia. The holotype was described as having a white background with flesh pink, quadrangular spots arranged in transverse series; these spots alternate with smaller, white areas of background color. Tornatella alveola is considered a member of Pupa and by some authors a synonym of P. affinis (see Chaban, 2016). Again, no specimens matching the description of P. alveola were obtained from New Caledonia, but the examination of a photograph of the holotype (MHNBx 2004.TY.29, Fig. 12D ), which is very similar to the syntypes of P. tessellata , except the patches are larger and more pinkish in P. alveola , and the shell appears to be slightly narrower. The holotype of P. alveola appears to fall within the morphological variation range of P. tessellata . However, because complete specimens/DNA of these two species were not available for study and due to the distance between their type localities, we prefer to leave the possible synonymy of P. tessellata and P. alveola as tentative.

Pilsbry (1917) described Solidula thaanumi Pilsbry, 1917 based on shells collected off Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands between 11–15 m depth. The shells were described as “oblong with acutely conic spire, solid, somewhat shining, whitish, unevenly tessellated with flesh pink, the spotting interrupted by pale bands on the sixth and twelfth spaces between spiral grooves.” We also examined a photograph of one of the syntypes (ANSP 117069, Fig. 12E ) which is very similar to the type material of both P. tessellata and P. alveola , although narrower and more elongate. Solidula thaanumi is currently considered a member of Pupa , but its identity remains unclear. For example, Kay (1979) regarded P. thaanumi as a synonym of P. tessellata , but Beu (2004) cited P. thaanumi as a synonym of P. affinis . Because we had no access to complete specimens from the Hawaiian Islands, we are unable to verify its synonymy with P. tessellata and/or P. alveola , but P. affinis appears to be a completely different species (see description of P. affinis ).

Figures

FIGURE 12. Photographs of shell specimens of Pupa tessellata (Reeve, 1842) and possible synonyms, ventral view. A–C. Three syntypes of Tornatella tessellata Reeve, 1842 (NHMUK 196954), ©NHMUK, photos by K. Webb. D. Holotype of Tornatella alveola Souverbie in Souverbie & Montrouzier, 1863 (MHNBx 2004.TY.29), ©MHNBx, photo by L. Charles. E. Syntype of Solidula thaanumi Pilsbry, 1917 (ANSP 117069), ©ANSP.