Boll. Malacol., 45 95-98 (2/2009) Cerithium balletoni n. sp. from Tuamotu Archipelago (French Polynesia) (Gastropoda, Cerithiidae) Alberto Cecalupo Via Granano 6y, 20090 Abstract Bucclnasco (Milano), Italy, Cerithium balletoni n. sp. is described based on material collected by divers at Takapoto Atoll (northern Ricercatore assodato, c/o Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesian), 15-30 m and at Punaauia (Tahiti Island), 50 m. The new species Acquario e Civica is compared with Cerithium lissum Watson, 1880, C. rehderi Houbrick, 1992 and C. torresi E.A. Smith, Stazione Idrobiologo di Milano, Viale Gadio 2, 1884, all sharing conical-lanceolate shell profile and strong, prominent, roundish tubercles in the spiral 20121 Milano, Italy, sculpture. [email protected] Riassunto Viene descritto Cerithium balletoni n. sp. su materiale raccolto manualmente in immersione nell'atollo di Takapoto (nord Arcipelago Tuamotu, Polinesia Francese), 15-30 m ed a Punaauia (Tahiti), 50 m. La nuova specie è stata confrontata con Cerithium lissum Watson, 1880, C. rehderi FHoubrick, 1992 e C. torresi E.A. Smith, 1884, simili per la forma della conchiglia conico-lanceolata e per la scultura spirale con tubercoli robusti, rotondeggianti e prominenti. I principali caratteri distintivi di C. balletoni n. sp. sono: la scultura, dominata da due file di tubercoli robusti, acuti e biancastri, che occupano quasi tutta l'altezza del giro; il canale sifonale corto e poco deviato; la colorazione, composta da sottilissime linee sagittate di colore marrone su tutta la teleoconca. Key words Gastropoda, Cerithiidae, Cerithium, new species, French Polynesia. Introduction Type material In November 2007 Michel Balleton, a skilled Polynesian Holotype (H 19.9 mm, D 6.9 mm), TakapotomAtoll, Tua- motu Archipelago, French Polynesia, 15-30 (Museum diverliving atTahiti, collectedsomecerithiid specimens MNHN A(ftroelslh,(enmorptthyersnhelTlus)amdoutruingArachdiipveilnaggo,at FtrheenTcahkaPpooltyo- NPaatriaotnyaple dA',HHist2o4i.r7emNmat,urDel8l.e8,mPamr,is,Takapoto Ant°ol2l23(8B5a)l.- nesia) on the external side of the coralline barrier, letoncoll.). Paratype B, H 21.0 mm, D 7.6 mm, Takapoto among and below the blocks of death corals, between Atoll (Cecalupo coll.). Paratype C, H 21.1 mm, D 7.2 mm, Takapoto Atoll (Florida Museum of Natural His- 15 and 30 m. tory, Gainesville, UF428202). Paratype D, H 20.8 mm, D Later on, during a diving at Punaauia (Tahiti Island) 6.2 mm, Takapoto Atoll (Acquario Civico Milano, AC- other fresh, empty shells were collected at a depth of QMI P822514). Paratype E, H 27.5 mm, D 9.2 mm, Taka- about 50 m, in a similar biotope. poto Atoll (Gourguet coll.). Paratype F, H 22.4 mm, D Because of the impossibility of determining these shells at species level, Mr. Balleton, who is preparing with H8.820m.m8,mmT,akDap7o.t5omAmt,ollPu(nLaeatuoiuar,neTauhxitciolIl.s)l.anPdar5a0tmype(LGe,- some other Polynesian specialists an important contri- tourneux coll.). bution to the malacofauna of the Tuamotu Archipelago, were going to list this species as Cerithium sp. Mr. Bal- leton and collaborators, aware ofmy interest forcerithi- Type locality ids, asked for my help for the specific determination. Takapoto Atoll (northern Tuamotu Archipelago, French tAefrtiearl aasnaexnteenwsisvpeecciehse.ck, I decided to describe this ma- Polynesia), 15-30 m depth [14° 34’ 57,20" S, 145° 09" 47,57" W], Systematics Other material Superfamily Cerithiodea Férussac, 1819 Two empty shells from Punaauia (Tahiti Island), 50 m Family Cerithiidae Férussac, 1822 [17° 38’ 05,21" S, 149° 37’ 08,74" W], Genus Cerithium Bruguière, 1792 [type species C. adansonii Bruguière, 1792] Distribution Cerithium balletoni n. sp. (Fig. 1A-M) The new species is only known from Takapoto Atoll Alberto Cecalupo Fig. 1. Cerithium balletoni n. sp. A-C. Holotype, H 19.9 mm, D 6.9 mm Takapoto Atoll (MNHN 22385). D, E. Paratype A, H 24.7 mm, D 8.8 mm, Takapoto Atoll (Balleton coll.). F, G. Paratype B, H 21.0 mm, D 7.6 mm, TakapotoAtoll (Cecalupo coll.). H. Paratype C, H 21.1 mm, D 7.2 mm, Taka- potoAtoll (Florida Museum of Natural History Gainesville, UF428202). I. Paratype D, H 20.8 mm, D 6.2 mm, TakapotoAtoll (Acquarlo Civico Milano, ACQMI P822514). J. Paratype E, H 27.5 mm, D, 9.2 mm, Takapoto Atoll (Gourguet coll.). K, L. Paratype F, H 22.4 mm, D 8.8 mm, Takapoto Atoll (Letourneux coll.). M. Paratype G, H 20.8 mm, D 7,5 mm, Punaauia (Tahiti Island), 50 m (Letourneux coll.). Fig. 1. Cerithium balletoni n. sp. A-C. Olotlpo, H 19,9 mm, D 6,9 mm Atollo Takapoto (MNHN 22385). D, E. Paratipo A, H 24,7 mm, D 8,8 mm, Atollo Takapoto (coll. Balleton). F, G. Paratipo B, H 21,0 mm, D 7,6 mm, Atollo Takapoto (coll. Cecalupo). H. Paratipo C, H 21,1 mm, D 7,2 mm, AtolloTakapoto (Florida Museum of Natural History Gainesville, UF 428202). I. Paratipo D, H 20,8 mm, D 6,2 mm, AtolloTakapoto (Acquario Civico Milano, ACQMI P822514). J. Paratipo E, H 27,5 mm, D, 9,2 mm, Atollo Takapoto (coll. Gourguet) K, L. Paratipo F, H 22,4 mm, D 8,8 mm, Atollo 96 Takapoto (coll. Letourneux). M. Paratype G, H 20,8 mm, D 7,5 mm, Punaauia (Tahiti) (coll. Letourneux). (French Polynesia) and Punaauia (Tahiti Island), at 15- differs from C. lissum by having not angulated whorls, 50 m. much stronger tubercles, less deep suture, rare varices (not always present), a shorter siphonal canal and dif- Etymology ferent colour pattern (C. lissum is clear beige). Cerithium rehderiis endemic toTahuata Island (Marche- As requested by the co-Authors ofMr. Balleton in their si Archipelago). It has a fusiform teleoconch, with a malacological book, the specific name is a tribute to weakvarix on each whorl. The spiral sculpture consists Michel Balleton, living atTahiti, who collected the spec- of two main beaded cords only on the anterior portion imens used to describe the new species. of the whorls. The siphonal canal is reflected dorsally and slightly to left of shell axis, and the shell is tan Description brown or dark beige. The new species has a conic-lan- ceolate profile without varices, the sculpture is domi- Shell small, solid, turriculated, conic-lanceolate, apical nated by two rows of strong tubercles which occupy Cerithium angle 26°-27°, not remarkably variable in shape and almost all the whorl height, the siphonal canal is only sculpture. Protoconch and initial teleoconch whorls un- slightly deviated and the shell colour is waxy white known. Teleoconch consisting of 11-12 whorls, slightly with dark brown lines. balletoni convex, with two spirals cords bearing 10-11 tubercles Cerithium torresi E.A. Smith, 1884, distributed in the In- n. on each whorl. Tubercles are large, prominent, whitish, do-West-Pacific from Australia to Solomon Islands, has sp. regularly spaced, producing a poorly defined pattern of a very solid shell, moderately elongated, quite variable from prosocline axial rows. Shell surface with very fine spiral in shape, with 13-14 convex whorls and impressed su- striae, crossed by equally fine opistocline axial striae, ture. The main difference from the new species is in the both seen under high magnification. Suture very shal- sculpture, consisting of three (instead of two) rows Tuamotu low,clearlyvisible on the last whorl only; anarrow sub- formed by 6-8 well developed, pearl-shaped tubercles. sutural cord is present. Aperture oval elongated, about Varices are occasionally present. The columella is con- 33% ofshell height, whitish inside. Outer lip expanded, cave,with awell developedcallus; theapertureisovate, Archipelago thickened by a labial varix. Columella concave with a with a thick outer lip and well definied labial teeth. The moderately thick parietal callus, without teeth or fold; siphonal canal is moderately elongate and slightly devi- (French posterior sinus open, moderately deep, thickened by a ated. callus slightly expanding inside aperture and set off by a parietal columellar plait. Siphonal canal slightly devi- Polynesia) ated, relatively long, with a deep duct. Shell colour pat- Acknowledgements tern dominated by the whitish tubercles and fine, sagit- tate, reddish-brown axial lines, on waxy white back- I wish to tank the Tahitian friends Jean Letourneux for (Gastropoda, ground. Interspaces of the adapical row of tubercles the useful suggestions, Philippe Bacchet, Robert Gour- whitish; in the second row only tubercles are whitish guettes and Michel Balleton which allowed me to study while interspaces have thebrownlines. Operculum and and describe the new species; Rafael La Perna and Pas- soft parts unknown. quale Micali for the kind assistance during the prepara- Cerithiidae) tion of this work. Discussion References A rich bibliography on the mollusca of the Polynesian area and theTuamotuArchipelago is available,but only Coles S.L., Defelice R.C. & G. Eldregge, 2002. Nonindige- few Authors have studied the family Cerithiidae in de- nous Marine Species at Waikiki and Hawai I Kai, o Ahu, tails (Salvat, 1967; Richard, 1982). The bibliographic re- Hawaii. BishopMuseum TecnicaIReport, Honolulu 25 1:255. search was then extended to works dealing with the Delesalle B.,J. Bell, F. Bourrouilh-LeJan,J. de Vaugelas, C. Gabrie, R. Galzin, M. Hermelin, L. Montaggioni, M. Indo-Pacific area in general (Gould, 1849; Philippi, 1849; Monteforte, O. Odinetz, C. Payri, M. Pichón, J. P. Re- Sowerby, 1855, 1865; Pease, 1861, 1869; Watson, 1880; non,M. Ricard,G. Richard, B. Salvat, 1985. Environmen- Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1905; Kay, 1979; Rehder, 1980; Hou- tal survey of Mataiva Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago French brick, 1992; Moretzsohn & Kay, 1995; Coles et al., Polinesia. Issued By The Smithsonian Istitutions, Washing- 2002). ton D.C., U.S.A.,Atoll Research Bulletin, 286: 1-34. The new species was found to be similar to Cerithium Philippi R.A., 1849. Cerithium, inAbbildungen und Beschreibun- lissum Watson, 1880, C. rehderi Houbrick, 1992 and C. gen neuer oder ivenig gekannter Conchylien herausgegeben von torresi E.A. Smith, 1884, all sharing a conic-lanceolate Dr. R.A. Philippi, Cassel, 3: 13-20. shell profile and a sculpture consisting of strong, prom- GouldA.A., 1849. Shells Briught Homeby the U.S. Exploring Expedition. Proceedings ofthe Boston SocietyofNaturalHisto- inent, roundish tubercles. ry, 3: 106-144. Cerithium lissum Watson, 1880 was described on mate- Houbrick R.S., 1992. MonographoftheGenus Cerithium Bru- rial from Levuaka (Fiji Islands), but reported also from guière in theIndo-Pacific (Cerithiidae: Prosobranchia). Smi- Philippines, Maidive Is., Chagos Is., Comores Is. and La thsonian Contributions to Zoology, 510:i-iv+211 pp. Réunion Is. (Houbrick, 1992: p. 110). Cerithium balletoni Kay E.A., 1979. Hawaiian marine Shells. Reef and shore fauna 97 of Hawaii, Section 4: Mollusca. Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Spec. Pubbl., Honolulu, Hawaii, 654 pp. Moretzsohn F. & Kay E.A., 1995. HawaiianMarineMolluscs - an update to Kay, 1979. University ofHawaii atManoa Ho- nolulu, Hawaii, pp. 1-28. Pease W.L., 1861. Descriptions ofForty-seven New Species of Shells, from the Sandwich Islands, in the Collection of Hu- gh Cuming, Esq. Proceedings ofthe Zoological Society ofLon- don, [1860], 1861: 431-438. Pease W.L., 1869. Descriptions of New Species of Marine Ga- steropodae Inhabiting Polynesia. American Journal of Con- chology, 5: 64-79. Richard G., 1982. Mollusques lagunaires et récifauxdePolynésie Alberto Frangaise: inventane faunistique, bionomie, bilan quantitatif croissance, production. Thèse, DoctoratenSciences, Universi- tà Pierre & MarieCurie, France, 153 pp. Cecalupo Salvat B., 1967. Cerithium (Pseudovertagus) clava (Gmelin, 1791) (= Clava maculata Martyn, 1784), taxonomie et distri- bution géographique. Journal de Conchyliologie, 106 (4): 130- 137. SowerbyG.B., 1855.MonographoftheGenusCerithiumAdan- son, in Thesaurus Conchyliorum, Or Monographs ofGenera of Shells, London, 2 (16): 847-899,pis. 176-186 [pi. 12published as a supplement in 1866. Sowerby G.B., 1865. Monograph of the Genus Cerithium, in L.A. Reeve (ed.), Conchologia Iconica: Or Illustrations ofMol- luscous Animal, 15 (atlas), 20 unpaginated plates + index. London. Watson R.B., 1880. Mollusca of H.M.S. "Challenger" Expedi- tion, Part. 5. Journal ofthe Linnaean Society ofLondon, 15: 87- 126. Pilsbry H.A. & Vanatta E.G., 1905. On two Hawaiian Ceri- thiidae. Proceedings ofthe Academy ofNatural Sciences, Phila- delphia, 57 576. : Rehder H.A., 1980. The Marine Mollusks of Easter Island (Isla de Pasqua) and Sala y Gomez. Smithsonian Contribu- tions to Zoology, 289: iv+167pp. Lavoro ricevuto 2 aprile 2009 98 Lavoro accettato 5 ottobre 2009