Yoldiella valorousae Killeen & J.A. Turner, 2009

Fig. 32I‒J

Material examined

GALICIA BANK • 2 spm, 2 sh; 43°00.12′ N, 11°57.67′ W; 1706 m; 29 Jul. 2011; BANGAL 0711 V2; MNCN • 2 sh, 1 v; 42°56.77′ N, 11°58.53′ W; 1631 m; 2 Aug. 2011; BANGAL 0711 V5; MNCN • 1 v; 42°41.87′ N, 11°26.71′ W; 1720 m; 8 Aug. 2011; BANGAL 0711 V10; MNCN • 1 v; 42°32.16′ N, 12°03.79′ W; 1585 m; 5 Aug. 2011; BANGAL 0711 DR12; MNCN.

Remarks

There is a complicated nomenclatural and taxonomic history for the small Yoldiella species originally described by Jeffreys (1876) as Leda lata, from abyssal depths of the North Atlantic. The name is a secondary homonym of Nucula lata Hinds, 1843, for which reason it was renamed Leda jeffreysi Hidalgo, 1877. Allen et al. (1995) considered that Jeffreys’ type material comprised two different species; they used the preoccupied name Yoldiella lata for one of them and the replacement name Yoldiella jeffreysi for the other one, disregarding the nomenclatural rule (ICZN Art. 72.7) which makes them objective synonyms. The nomenclatural flaw was fixed by Killeen & Turner (2009), who endorsed the specific distinction, based Yoldiella jeffreysi on the lectotype of Y. lata (USNM 199696, from “Valorous” stn 16, west of Rockall Plateau, 1785 fms [3265 m]) designated by Allen & Hannah (1989) for their concept of Yoldiella jeffreysi, and named Yoldiella valorousae the second species (treated as “ Yoldiella lata ” in Allen & Hannah 1989), based on a shell (USNM 199695) from “Valorous” stn 9, off S Greenland, 1750 fms [3200 m]. Allen & Hannah (1989) and Killeen & Turner (2009) reported both species as widespread in the North Atlantic. Both species are similar in outline but Y. valorousae differs from Y. jeffreysi in being more compressed.

Family Pristiglomidae Sanders & Allen, 1973