Iophon pluricornis var. trullifera Hentschel 1914

Iophon pluricornis var. trullifera Hentschel, 1914

(Fig. 7G)

Iophon pluricornis var. trullifera Hentschel, 1914: 84, pl. VI fig. 9.

The variety was described by Hentschel from Gauss Station and its neighbourhood Antarctica, 66.0333°S 89.6333°E, depth 170–400 m (syntype ZMB 4809). It is entirely based on an alleged difference in shape of the bipocillae with that of the typical variety described by Topsent (1907: 74 from the shore of Booth-Wandel Island, Antarctic Peninsula, 65.08°S 63.99°W, type not identified, but presumably in MNHN). The latter has bipocillae with “belles dimensions” of 11 µm. Topsent’s drawing of the bipocillae is very small and of rather indistinct shape, but Hentschel (1914) still thought they were distinctly different from the bipocillae of the present variety, described and illustrated as having the “geŵnliche Gestalt”. Apart from Burton (1929: 442), who synonymized all Antarctic Iophon species to a single species I. radiatum, there are no other authors who commented on the present variety. In view of the poor evidence provided by Hentschel to justify the erection of his var. trullifera (the name remains unexplained (but trulla (L.) means ‘serving spoon’ or ladle, referring obviously to the shape of the bipocillae), I propose to merge the variety with the typical variety as Iophon pluricorne Topsent, 1907.