Coralliophila roseocephala Kosuge, 1986

Oliverio, Marco, 2008, Coralliophilinae (Neogastropoda: Muricidae) from the southwest Pacific, Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 196, pp. 481-586 : 512-513

Coralliophila roseocephala Kosuge, 1986

Figs 39, 160

Coralliophila roseocephala Kosuge 1986d: 74-75 , pl. 27, figs 1-2; pl. 29, fig. 5.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype and 6 paratypes IMT 86-5 to 86-11 [not seen]. Holotype figured also by Higo et al. (2001: 66, fig. G2400) .

TYPE LOCALITY. — Sumisu-jima (Sumisu Bank), SE of Izu Islands , Japan .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — New Caledonia proper. BATHUS 1: CP 804, Banc Jumeau Ouest , 23°41’S, 168°00’E, 244-278 m, 1 stn DW 688, Passe de Hienghu, 20°33’S, 165°00’E, 270-282 m, dd; stn CP 805, 23°41’S, 168°01’E, 278-310 m, 1 dd; stn DW 1 dd; stn DW 692, Passe de Hienghène, 20°35’S, 164°59’E, 140- 829, 23°21’S, 168°02’E, 386-390 m, 1 dd . — NORFOLK 1: DW 150 m, 1 dd 1651, Banc N, 23°27’S, 167°50’E, 276-350 m, 1 lv; stn DW 1724, Norfolk Ridge. CHALCAL 2: stn DW 83, 23°20’S, 168°06’E, 200 23°17’S, 168°14’E, 200-291 m, 1 lv.

m, 2 dd. — SMIB 8: stn DW 154, 24°45’S, 168°08’E, 235-252 m, Loyalty Ridge. MUSORSTOM 6: stn DW 392, 20°47’S, 167°05’E, 1 dd; stn DW 157, 24°46’S, 168°08’E, 251-255 m, 1 dd; stn DW 340 m, 1 dd.

159, 24°46’S, 168°08’E, 241-245 m, 2 dd; stn DW 190, 23°18’S, Fiji. MUSORSTOM 10: stn CP 1365, 18°13’S, 178°32’E, 295-302 168°05’E, 305-310 m, 2 lv (Figs 39, 160) . — BERYX 11: stn DW m, 1 dd; stn DW 1388, 18°19’S, 178°02’E, 313-446 m, 1 dd.

18, 24°48’S, 168°09’E, 250-270 m, 1 lv, dd. — BATHUS 3: stn

DISTRIBUTION. — Pacific Ocean : Kii Peninsula and Smith Rocks , Japan (Tsuchiya 2000) and southeast of Izu Islands, in 200 m ( Kosuge 1986d). New Caledonia, Loyalty Ridge, Norfolk Ridge and Fiji, live in 270-305 m, empty shells in 150-386 m. Southward range extension in the west Pacific .

REMARKS. — Protoconch of 3.2 conical whorls, 780 Μm high, 730 Μm wide at the base. Protoconch-I of about 1.0 whorls, sculptured with pustules over the entire surface. Protoconch-II of nearly 2.2 whorls, with 2 spiral keels (the abapical starting nearly 1 whorl before the adapical one), sculptured with a series of subsutural prosocline threads and a series of oblong tubercules over each keel; a diffuse granulation is present in the interspaces and gives rise to spiral threadlets over the tubercles.

The allegedly diagnostic coloured protoconch ( Kosuge 1986d) is not a character exclusive to this species, but shells of C. roseocephala are distinguished from C. solutistoma by their slightly coarser, more regular and more scabrous sculpture, and by their rhomboid shell shape, lacking a marked shoulder. In C. roseocephala , the axial ribs are straight and tend to be orthocline or prosocline, while in C. solutistoma they are slightly sigmoid and tend to be opisthocline.