The very poorly known T. caledonica Sowerby, 1909 has been collected again. Additional material is made available and additional information is added to the original description

Conde, J.

Terryn, Y.

English

Open Marine Archive

3 ]
Gloria Maris 43(2-3) 31-39 Antwerpen, j uii 2004
6 1 9 3 3
Additional descriptive notes on Terebra caledonica Sowerby, 1909
Javier CONDE (1) & Yves TERRYN (2)
(1) Nunez de Balboa 12, Madrid 28001, Spain, 
condesj ap@yahoo. es 
(2) Scientific Associate, Malacology Section, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural 
Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.
Acaciastraat 44, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. 
loricata@pandora.be
Keywords: TEREBRIDAE, Terebra caledonica, Isle o f Pines, New Caledonia, addi­
tional descriptive notes
Abstract: The very poorly known T. caledonica Sowerby, 1909 has been collected 
again. Additional material is made available and additional information is added to the 
original description.
Introduction: In August 2003, the first author undertook a shell collecting trip to the 
Isle of Pines, New Caledonia. A population o f  an unfamiliar terebrid, comprising both 
juveniles and adults o f  different sizes, was found. Subsequent research indicated that 
it belonged to the species T. caledonica. Since only the holotype (smooth shell) had 
previously been known, and the present population included many more crenulated 
than smooth individuals, the authors decided to complement the original description 
and to make more material available to relevant scientific institutions.
32
Abbreviations:
Private collection of Javier Conde, Spain
Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Brussels, 
Belgium
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain 
Muséum national d ’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France 
Natural History Museum, London, UK 
Private collection of Yves lerryrt, Belgium
Class GASTROPODA Cuvier, 1797 
Family TEREBRIDAE Mörch, 1852 
Genus Terebra Bruguière, 1789
Terebra caledonica Sowerby, 1909
(Pis 1-2)
Holotype: NHM Reg.No, 1909.10.19.103, 46.8 x 11.0 mm (pi. 1, figs a-d).
Additional material available: On sand, 1-4 m, Ita Point, Isle o f Pines, New 
Caledonia: JC: 22 sps, 22-72 mm.; KBIN: 1 sp., leg. JC., 58 mm.; MNCN: 1 sp., leg. 
JC-, 61 mm.; MNHN: 3 sps, leg. JC. 22-65 mm.; YT: 8 sps, leg. JC., 24-69 mm.
Type Locality: New Caledonia.
Additional descriptive notes: Shell up to 72 mm (JC). Colour ivory or greyish white 
beset with a row o f more or less regular, squarish or rectangular, fawn-coloured or 
beige spots on the subsutural band and one row on the remainder o f the whorl. 
Reddish brown protoconch o f about 1.5 whorls. Outline o f whorls slightly convex, 
early whorls o f the teleoconch straight. Subsutural band bordered with a shallow 
groove.
In general, the shell is without sculpture but there are two exceptions:
!) Juveniles tend to display densely set, fine axial riblets and obsolete nodulation on 
the subsutural band (see pi. 1, figs. e-f ).
JC
KBIN
MNCN
MNHN
NHM
YT
33
2) About 60% o f the adult specimens still show this nodulation or ‘crenulations’, simi­
lar to Terebra crenulata Linnaeus, 1758 (see pi. 2, figs a-c).
Both forms can be present in broad specimens (pi. 2, figs c-d) and slender ones (pi. 2, 
figs a, e).
The remainder of the adults are smooth, sometimes with evidence o f some erosion and 
show no apparent sculpture (see pi. 2, figs d-e).
Body whorl long and inflated, aperture elongate. Columella recurved.
Animal and operculum dried inside all available material, not studied.
Habitat: Rather coarse coral sand, in one to four metres depth, taken by snorkelling 
while following tracks. Tracks were very variable in length, from 0.5 m to several 
metres long, twisting and meandering. Appears to feed on small worms.
Distribution: Sowerby (1909) designated New Caledonia as type locality but the 
species is only known from Isle o f Pines, New Caledonia. Confirmed localities up till 
now are Kanumera Bay and Ita Point, Isle of Pines, New Caledonia.
Remarks and discussion: This elusive New Caledonian species had not been found 
again after the original description, until two decades ago. This first rediscovery did 
not give an exact locality. Very recently, a local naturalist found the species while 
diving in 8 metres, at Kanumera Bay, Isle of Pines.
In August 2003, the first author spotted a population at Ita Point, Isle of Pines, New 
Caledonia, which serves as the basis for this article. Because the species had not been 
found again for such a long time, systematic workers on Terebridae {fide Bratcher & 
Cemohorsky, 1987) considered it o f  doubtful validity at best, usually regarding speci­
mens as freak specimens o f T. areolata Link, 1807, T. consors Hinds, 1844 or T. cre­
nulata Linnaeus, 1758. Alternatively, it was not thought to originate in the well-known 
and intensively collected areas around the Isle o f Pines or Grand Terre.
The species has not been recorded so far from other neighbouring areas in the 
Southern Pacific. Within the Isle o f Pines, the first author collected in more than ten 
different localities around the island, only finding the species at Ita Point. Based on 
present knowledge, the authors tentatively conclude that this is a species o f very limi­
ted geographical distribution, possibly endemic to the subtidal zone of the southern 
Isle of Pines, a remarkably restricted geographical distribution for any terebrid species 
and certainly for any marine gastropod.
34
The original description depicts the species as being smooth and dull-coloured; our 
findings lead us to conclude that the majority of the population show clear erenula- 
tions and are strikingly fawn-coloured. Only a minority of the population are smooth, 
slightly eroded/encrusted and coloured a pale brown. While the cause or reason for 
this separation into two forms is still unclear, sexual dimorphism could well explain 
this phenomenon. A similar variety o f forms can aiso be found in T. crenulata: T. fim ­
briata & T. interlineata Deshayes, 1857 (large and heavily crenuiated form); T. cre­
nulata var. booleyi Melvill & Sykes, 1898 (small, slender and smooth form). Based on 
shell morphology and variability, T. caledonica seems to be closely related to T. cre­
nulata.
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Mrs Kathy Way and Mrs Amelia 
McLellan, both NHM, for offering us the opportunity to study the holotype o f Terebra 
caledonica. We would also like to express our gratitude towards Dr. J. L. Van 
Goethem, KBfN, for taxonomic aid and commenting this manuscript. We would like 
to thank Dr. Ph. Bouchet, MNHN, for the unlimited access to the Terebridae-types 
and -collection o f the MNHN and Bruno Anseeuw for critically re-reading this manu­
script.
Selected references:
.Bratcher T, & Cernohorsky W.O., 1987. - Living Terebras of the World. Madison Publishing 
Associates, New York, NY, USA. 240 pp.
Sowerby G.B., 1909. Proc. Maiae. Soc. London 8(4): 198.
35
Sum m arizing translation  into D utch /
Sam envattende N ederlandse vertaling
Terebra caledonica Sowerby, 1909 werd na de originele beschrijving niet meer gevon­
den tot 2 decennia geleden. Deze herontdekking bracht echter geen exacte localiteit 
aan het licht. Recent werden populaties aangetroffen bij Ita Point en Kanumera Bay, 
beide bij Isle of Pines, Nieuw Caledonië. Het blijkt dan ook om een soort met een 
uiterst beperkt verspreidingsgebied te gaan, die daardoor door velen ais een soort met 
twijfelachtige geldigheid o f freak van verwante soorten werd beschouwd. Door het 
aantreffen van populaties bestaande uit zowel juveniele en volwassen exemplaren kan 
dit echter ontkracht worden.
Bovendien kunnen door het aantreffen van de populatie nabij Ita Point door de eerste 
auteur bijkomende beschrijvende gegevens, evenals níeuwe gegeven i.v.m. habitat 
(ruw koraalzand op l-4m) worden aangebracht. T. caledonica is een tot 72 mm grote, 
ivoorachtige tot grijskleurige soort met een rij min o f meer regelmatige, vierkantige of 
rechthoekige vlekken op de subsuturale band en een rij op de omgangen. De ca. 1,5 
omgangen grote protoconch is roodbruin. De omgangen zijn licht convex, de eerste 
omgangen van de teleoconch recht en de subsuturale band is afgelijnd met een ondie­
pe groef. Deze soort vertoont vaak geen sculptuur (zoals vermeld in de originele 
beschrijving), maar er zijn twee uitzonderingen: juveniele exemplaren vertonen fijne 
axiale ribbeltjes en korreling op de subsuturale band, terwijl volwassen exemplaren 
deze korreling ook nog vaak vertonen. De reden voor het bestaan van deze twee vor­
men (gladde vorm en gekorrelde vorm) is nog onduidelijk, maar i.s mogelijk te verkla­
ren door een verschil in geslacht.
36
Plate 1
Figs a -  d : Terebra caledonica Sowerby, 1909 - holotype, NHM, 46.8 x 11.0 mm. 
Fig. a: Holotype, 46.8 x 11.0 mm.
Fig- b: Detail o f  aperture and body whorl.
Fig. c: Detail of protoconch and early whorls o f teleoconch.
Fig. d : Detail o f  middle whorls.
Figs e -  g : Terebra caledonica Sowerby, 1909 - Ita Point, New Caledonia.
Fig. e: JC. Juvenile shell, slender form, 22 x 6 mm.
Fig. f: MNHN. Juvenile shell, broad form, 22 x 7 mm.
Fig. g: YT. Juvenile shell, broad form, 38 x 10 mm.
37
38
Plate 2
Figs a -  e: Terebra caledonica Sowerby, 1909 - Ita Point, New Caledonia. 
Fig. a: JC. Adult. Slender and crenulated form, 72 x 15 mm.
Fig. b: JC. Adult. Slender and crenulated form, 72 x 15 mm.
Detail o f  aperture.
Fig. c: YT. Adult. Broad and crenulated form, 69 x 18 mm.
Fig. d: YT. Adult. Broad and smooth form, 60 x 16 mm.
Fig. e: JC Adult. Slender and smooth form, 6 1 x 1 3  mm.
39


Additional descriptive notes on <i>Terebra caledonica</i> Sowerby, 1909

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Additional descriptive notes on <i>Terebra caledonica</i> Sowerby, 1909

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