Bouchetispira ponderi n. sp. (Conoidea: Bouchetispiridae), a new deep-sea gastropod from temperate Australia

ABSTRACT

This study presents the first record of the previously monotypic family Bouchetispiridae (Neogastropoda: Conoidea) outside of New Caledonia and provides the taxonomic description of Bouchetispira ponderi n. sp. from deep waters off the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Molecular analysis based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) and 12S ribosomal RNA (12S rRNA) mitochondrial markers confirms its placement within the family, which is corroborated based on similarities of the shell and hypodermic radula to its sister taxon Bouchetispira vitrea. B. ponderi differs from the latter in having shouldered, distinctly less convex whorls and a thicker, more opaque shell, as well as in details of the radula. Furthermore, the molecular results presented herein support its recognition as a new species. B. ponderi bears notable similarities in several shell characters to Belomitra pacifica (Belomitridae), providing another example of convergence with regard to shell morphology in the Neogastropoda.

KEYWORDS:

• Neogastropoda
• COI
• molecular systematics
• radula
• shell morphology
• convergence

Acknowledgements

Special thanks are due to Sue Lindsay and Chao Shen (Macquarie University, Sydney) for assisting with SEM work and Mandy Reid and Alison Miller (AM) for assistance with registration and databasing of material. The authors wish to thank the CSIRO Marine National Facility (MNF) for its support in the form of sea time on the Investigator, support personnel, scientific equipment and data management. All data and samples acquired on the voyage are made publicly available in accordance with MNF Policy. We also thank all the scientific staff and crew who participated in voyage IN2017_V03. We thank Yuri Kantor for providing access to radular images of B. vitrea. Finally, the reviewers – Y. Kantor and one anonymous – and editor Bruce Marshall, are thanked for their helpful suggestions which served to improve the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Anders Hallan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4858-7042

Francesco Criscione http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1996-2854

Additional information

Funding

This work has been made possible through financial support from the Australian Government (ABRS) (grant RF217-57 to FC and AH). The participation of AF was also supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 16-14-10118 to Yuri Kantor). Funding for the voyage was provided by the Marine Biodiversity Hub, supported through the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program (NESP).