Leptochiton liratus (H. Adams & Angas, 1864 )

Sirenko, Boris, 2023, A small collection of rare and new chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Zootaxa 5325 (3), pp. 359-392 : 360-365

Leptochiton liratus (H. Adams & Angas, 1864)

( Figures 4–6 )

Lepidopleurus liratus H. Adams & Angas 1864: 192 ; Ashby 1921: 155; 1923: 218, pl. 16, fig. 1; 1928: 175.

Lepidopleurus inquinatus ; Sykes 1896: 86, pl. 6, fig. 4; Bednall 1897: 141, non Chiton inquinatus Reeve, 1847 .

Lepidopleurus profundus May 1923 : pl. 14, fig. 2; Ashby 1927: 94, non Lepidopleurus profundus Ashby, 1923: 221 , pl. 16, figs. 2, 2a [= Leptochiton collusor (Iredale & Hull, 1925) ].

Terenochiton liratus ; Iredale & Hull 1925: 342, pl. 39, fig. 4; Cotton & Godfrey 1940: 477, fig. 458; Macpherson & Gabriel 1962: 3; Cotton 1964: 17, fig. 5.

Parachiton profundus ; Iredale & Hull 1925: 346, pl. 39, fig. 21.

Leptochiton (Leptochiton) liratus ; Kaas & Van Belle 1985: 136, fig. 60, map 20; Gowlett-Holmes 2001: 74.

Leptochiton liratus ; Sirenko 2020: 421, figs. 22, 23, 46D.

Type material. Neotype ( AM C. 10410), designated by Iredale & Hull (1925).

Type locality. South Australia, Yorke Peninsula, Hardwicke Bay .

Material examined. Tasmania, D’Entrecasteaux Channel , 43°13’S, 147°28’E, 18 m, 2 spms, BL 9.5 –10.0 mm, ( TMAG, E 3035 ), 1910, coll D.L. May .

Remarks. The studied two specimens were collected and identified by D.L. May as a new species Lepidopleurus profundus May, 1923 . Kaas & Van Belle (1985) identified them as Leptochiton liratus . The examination under an electron microscope revealed that the dorsal scales of these specimens are longer and pointed. They are similar to the needle-like spicules of the very similar species L. collusor (Iredale & Hull, 1925) , while the dorsal scales of L. liratus have a different shape (see Kaas & Van Belle 1985). The identification as L. liratus by Kaas & Van Belle (1985) is accepted herein until the validity L. liratus and L. collusor is clarified.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Leptochiton liratus, South Ocean, South Tasmania (TMAG, E 3035/18600), BL 9.5 mm: A. Valve I, dorsal view; B. Valve II, dorsal view; C. Valve V, dorsal view; D. Valve VIII, dorsal view; E. Valve V, detail of tegmentum in central and lateral areas; F. Valve V, rostral view; G. Valve VIII, lateral view; H. Valve IV, ventral view.

FIGURE 5. Leptochiton liratus, South Ocean, South Tasmania (TMAG, E 3035/18600), BL 9.5 mm: A, B. Dorsal spicules, marginal needles and ventral scales; C. Dorsal spicules; D. Ventral scales and marginal needles.

FIGURE 6. Leptochiton liratus, South Ocean, South Tasmania (TMAG, E 3035/18600), BL 9.5 mm: A. Radula; B. Central and first lateral teeth of radula.