Conasprella (Endemoconus) ione

Conasprella (Endemoconus) ione (Fulton, 1938)

Figs 2, 40–41

Conus ione Fulton, 1938: 55, pl. III fig. 2.

Conus ione – R̂ckel et al. 1995b: no. 105, pl. 25 figs 25–28.

Endemoconus ione – Tucker & Tenorio 2013: 231.

Conasprella ione – Monnier et al. 2018a: 214.

Material examined

87 lots (126 specimens). See Supp. file 1.

Type material

Holotype JAPAN • 58 mm; Kii; NHMUK 1938.7.13.10 (Fig. 40).

Figured material

NEW CALEDONIA • 46.5 mm; off New Caledonia, stn DW230; 22º52′ S, 167º12′ E; 390‒420 m depth; 30 Sep. 1985; MUSORSTOM 4 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 40B) • 45.2 mm; same collection data as for preceding; MNHN (Fig. 40C) • 47.5 mm; south of Grande Terre, off New Caledonia, stn DW210; 22º43′ S, 167º09′ E; 340‒345 m depth; 28 Sep. 1985; MUSORSTOM 4 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 40D) • 33.2 mm; Norfolk Ridge, off New Caledonia, stn DW187; 23º17′ S, 168º06′ E; 390‒540 m depth; 31 Jan. 1993; SMIB 8 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 40E) • 39.7 mm; Norfolk Ridge, off New Caledonia, stn DW189; 23º18′ S, 168º06′ E; 400‒402 m depth; 31 Jan. 1993; SMIB 8 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 40F) • 48.3 mm; Norfolk Ridge, Île des Pins, off New Caledonia, stn DW2148; 22º44′ S, 167º16′ E; 366‒391 m depth; 4 Nov. 2003; NORFOLK 2 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 40G) • 47 mm; off New Caledonia, stn CP3848; 22°03′ S, 168°42′ E; 430‒440 m depth; 13 Sep. 2011; EXBODI expedition; MNHN (Fig. 40H) • 53.8 mm; S Île des Pins, off New Caledonia; 450 m depth; MJT (Fig. 40I) • 36.9 mm; Norfolk Ridge, off New Caledonia, stn DW184; 23º18′ S, 168º05′ E; 305‒320 m depth; 31 Jan. 1993; SMIB 8 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 40J) • 19.3 mm; Loyalty Ridge, off New Caledonia, stn DW406; 20º41′ S, 167º07′ E; 373 m depth; 15 Feb. 1989; MUSORSTOM 6 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 40K) • 20 mm; Norfolk Ridge, off New Caledonia, stn DW827; 23º22′ S, 168º01′ E; 381‒469 m depth; 29 Nov. 1993; BATHUS 3 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 40L) • 38 mm; Grand Passage, off N New Caledonia, stn DW2954; 19°02′ S, 163°18′ E; 250‒280 m depth; 1 May 2008; CONCALIS expedition; Atheris coll. (Fig. 40M).

Geographical distribution and bathymetry

Widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific: Mozambique and Reunion Island, Japan to the Philippines and NW Australia, typically at depths between 240 and 400 m. In New Caledonia it is particularly abundant in Norfolk Ridge, but also present in the Grand Passage area, Loyalty Ridge, and Coral Sea (Plateau des Chesterfield), at depths between 200‒ 500 m.

Remarks

Moderately large (maximum shell length 76 mm) conical shell, slightly pyriform with a moderately high spire. Multispiral protoconch of about 3.75 whorls (Fig. 40L). Teleoconch sutural ramps concave with regularly set axial threads. Radular tooth (Fig. 40M) with a short barb and a pointed blade covering about one third of the anterior section, which is much shorter than the posterior section. Shaft fold is present but difficult to detect. Basal spur present. This is a relatively abundant species in deep water around New Caledonia. Specimens from this area are similar to those from other localities, and can be either densely or sparsely patterned. In the phylogeny (Fig. 2), all sequenced specimens of C. ione appear in a clade which is sister to Conasprella sieboldii (Reeve, 1849), a species which is not present among the lots of deep-water New Caledonian material studied in the present work.