Hirtomurex teramachii (Kuroda, 1959)

Oliverio, Marco, 2008, Coralliophilinae (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) from the southwest Pacific, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 481-586 : 549

Hirtomurex teramachii (Kuroda, 1959)

Fig. 105

Latiaxis teramachi Kuroda, 1959: 322 , pl. 20, fig. 7.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype TA 1974 , figured by Kosuge & Suzuki (1985: pl. 36, fig. 6) and Higo et al. (2001: 69, G2471).

TYPE LOCALITY. — Tosa Bay , southern Shikoku, Japan .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — New Caledonia proper. BATHUS 3: 780 m, 1 dd.

stn DW 838, 23°01’S, 166°56’E, 400-402 m, 1 dd. Vanuatu. MUSORSTOM 8: stn CP 984, 19°20’S, 169°26’E, 480- Loyalty Ridge. MUSORSTOM 6: stn CP 438, 20°23’S, 166°20’E, 544 m, 1 dd (Fig. 105).

DISTRIBUTION. — West Pacific : southern Japan, Philippines and Australia, 150-500 m in sandy bottoms (Tsuchiya 2000: 409; Higo et al. 1999: 221). New Caledonia, Loyalty Ridge and Vanuatu, empty shells in 402-780 m.

REMARKS. — The identification of the shell from the Loyalty Ridge is tentative, given its poor preservation. Hirtomu-

rex teramachii is characterised by its inflated shell and relatively large size for the genus.