Siphonaria laciniosa (Linnaeus, 1758)

Siphonaria laciniosa: Kwon et al. 1993: 335, fig. 61-4.

Siphonaria (Siphonaria) laciniosa: Kwon 2001: 191, fig. 721.

Siphonaria (Mestosiphon) laciniosa: Lee and Min 2002 [checklist]: 146, fig. 268; Min et al. 2004: 336, fig. 1059; Noseworthy et al. 2007: 90 [checklist].

Distribution

Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Samaoan Islands, Tonga, Fiji (Morrison 1972).

Type locality: India.

Taxon discussion

Kwon et al. (1993) first reported the occurrence of this species in Korea, noting its high shell height (SL 20 mm, SW 18 mm, SH 9.4 mm), with approximately 50 radial ribs and a pointed apex. Subsequent literature described this species as having less pronounced radial ribs, with white spots along the inner shell margin (Kwon 2001, Min et al. 2004), which are shell features also commonly observed in some individuals of S. japonica. Jenkins and Köhler (2024) recently designated S. laciniosa as a “ nomen dubium ”, highlighting the “ utter confusion ” in its original description and subsequent literature. Jenkins and Köhler (2024) noted that many type specimens attributed to S. laciniosa are either lost or represent mixed lots. Given the substantial taxonomic confusion regarding the validity of S. laciniosa and the morphological overlap between Korean specimens previously identified as S. laciniosa (Kwon et al. 1993, Kwon 2001, Min et al. 2004) and S. japonica (as observed in this study), it is likely that the earlier records of S. laciniosa in Korea represent misidentifications of S. japonica. As a result, we excluded S. laciniosa from the list of Korean Siphonaria species.