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Cancellaria (Cancellaria) coltrorum, a new species of Cancellariidae

(Gastropoda: Neogastropoda) from Brazil

Article in Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington · September 2014

DOI: 10.2988/0006-324X-127.2.400

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 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
127(2):400–405. 2014.

Cancellaria (Cancellaria) coltrorum, a new species of Cancellariidae

(Gastropoda: Neogastropoda) from Brazil
M. G. Harasewych* and Richard E. Petit†
(MGH) Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian
Institution, P.O. Box 7012, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, U.S.A., e-mail: harasewych@si.edu;
(REP) 806 St. Charles Road, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29582-2846, U.S.A.

Abstract.—Cancellaria (Cancellaria) coltrorum, new species, is described

from shallow waters of the southern Brazilian Province, ranging from the
Abrolhos Archipelago to Vitória. This new species co-occurs with C. petuchi
Harasewych, Petit & Verhecken, 1992 but may be distinguished from it by
having a broader shell with a shorter, wider spire; a proportionally larger
aperture that is widest along its adapical half and has fewer, weaker lirae on
the outer lip; and, most conspicuously, by having reticulate sculpture that
becomes more irregular and dominated by axial ribs in latter whorls, and by
being white or faintly mottled in very light tan rather than having dark brown
spiral bands. The broad-ranging Cancellaria reticulata (Linnaeus, 1767)
differs from both C. petuchi and C. coltrorum in having a shell with finer and
more regular spiral and axial sculpture that is equal in prominence and
produces a regular, reticulated pattern, as well as in having a thick, bifid
posteriormost columellar fold and in lacking a thick callus that obscures the
sculpture along the parietal region. Similarities in shell morphology suggest
that C. mixta Landau, Petit & Silva, 2012, from the late Miocene of Panama,
was a progenitor of C. coltrorum and C. petuchi, as well as the Panamic C.
urceolata Hinds, 1843.

Keywords: Brazilian Province, Cancellaria petuchi, Cancellaria reticulata,

Cancellaria urceolata, biogeography

Members of the family Cancellariidae
occur in nearly all marine soft bottom
habitats, ranging from pole to pole and
from the intertidal zone to hadal depths.
However, the nominotypical subgenus,
Cancellaria sensu stricto, has a far nar-
rower distribution, being limited to later
Tertiary and Recent faunas of the New
World tropics (Jung & Petit 1990:93). In
the eastern Pacific, Cancellaria s.s. is
represented by nine Recent species, rang-
ing from Baja California (308N) to Ecua-
dor (38S), at depths that extend from the
intertidal zone to the outer continental
shelf, with the greatest diversity along
* Corresponding author.
† Deceased.
coastal Central America (Keen 1971, Petit
& Harasewych 2013). Of the six species
reported to inhabit the western Atlantic
(Rosenberg 2009), one deep-water species
(Cancellaria rosewateri Petit, 1983) was
transferred to the genus Admete based on
molecular data (Modica et al. 2011). The
remaining five species range from North
Carolina (358N) to southern Brazil (208S),
and occur at intertidal to continental shelf
depths. Two species (Cancellaria adelae
Pilsbry, 1940 and C. richardpetiti Petuch,
1987) occur only in the Carolinean
Province, one (C. mediamericana Petuch,
1998) is confined to the Caribbean Prov-
ince, and one (C. petuchi Harasewych,
VOLUME 127, NUMBER 2
Petit &Verhecken, 1992) to the Brazilian
Province.
In contrast, Cancellaria reticulata (Lin-
naeus, 1767) is reported to have a broad
range, extending from North Carolina to
Brazil (e.g., Rios 1970, 1985; Abbott 1974,
Abbott & Dance 1982, Rosenberg 2009,
Rosenberg et al. 2009, Tunnell et al. 2010).
Some more recent publications (e.g., Rios
2009, Petuch 2013) restrict C. reticulata to
the Carolinean and Caribbean Provinces,
recognizing the Brazilian records as C.
petuchi. Costa (1994:27) reported a white
specimen of Cancellaria from Espı́rito
Santo, Brazil that he identified as an albino
Cancellaria reticulata, regarding C. petuchi
to be a synonym of this species. We have
recently been able to examine a larger
series of these white specimens through the
courtesy of Marcus and José Coltro. These
specimens differ substantially both from
Brazilian specimens of C. reticulata [a
species that does not extend south of the
Cearaian Subprovince of the Brazilian
Province (Petuch 2013:Fig. 10.1)] and from
C. petuchi [a species that occurs through-
out the Brazilian Province (Petuch
2013:Fig. 10.1)], and represent a new
species [apparently limited to the Bahian
and Paulinian Subprovinces of the Brazil-
ian Province (Petuch 2013:Fig. 10.1)] that
is described herein.
Abbreviations used in text: ANSP –
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel
University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
RPC – Richard E. Petit Collection, USNM
– National Museum of Natural History,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Systematics
Family Cancellariidae Forbes & Hanley,
1851
Subfamily Cancellariinae
Genus Cancellaria Lamarck, 1799
Type species.—Voluta reticulata Lin-
naeus, 1767, by monotypy.
401
Cancellaria (Cancellaria) coltrorum, new
species
Figs. 1K–O, 2A, B
Cancellaria reticulata: Costa, 1994:27, Fig.
11 (left image).
Description.—Shell (Fig. 1K–O) large (to
31.5 mm), heavy, with moderately broad,
conical spire (spire angle 72–808) compris-
ing about one-third of total shell length.
Protoconch (Fig. 2A, B) increasing in
diameter from 152 lm to 1.35 mm in two
and three-quarters smooth, glassy, rounded
whorls, deviated from teleoconch axis by ~
88. Transition to teleoconch (Fig. 2A, B
arrows) abrupt, demarcated by onset of
weakly shouldered axial ribs and 3 broad
spiral cords. Teleoconch with up to five and
one-half roundly shouldered whorls. Suture
impressed. Spiral sculpture of 17–18 major
cords on last whorl, 5–7 on siphonal canal,
and 5 on penultimate whorl. Second major
adapical cord runs along shoulder, suture
joins fifth major adapical cord. Major cords
broader than intercordal spaces. Single
minor cords may appear between adjacent
major cords by fourth teleoconch whorl,
particularly near the suture and siphonal
canal. Axial sculpture of strong, prosocline
ribs (18–19 on first teleoconch whorl, 27–30
in intermediate whorls, 21–24 on last whorl
of adult specimens). Ribs initially broader
than the spaces between them, becoming
more widely spaced by fourth teleoconch
whorl, and broader and more irregularly
spaced after four and one-half teleoconch
whorls. Spiral and axial sculpture (axial
always dominant) intersect to form reticu-
lated pattern with nodes at intersections of
ribs and major cords. Nodes decrease in
prominence after fourth teleoconch whorl,
ribs may appear almost smooth after fifth
teleoconch whorl. Aperture large, broad,
hemi-elliptical, deflected from coiling axis
by 21–248. Outer lip with shallow indenta-
tion posterior to junction with siphonal
canal, its inner surface with 8–10 slightly
recessed, weak to moderately strong denti-
cles/lirae that extend ~ one-eighth whorl
402 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

Fig. 1. A–E, Cancellaria reticulata (Linnaeus, 1767). USNM 811466, 85 mi N of Carutapera, Maranhão
State, Brazil, trawled at 55 m, M/V Oregon, sta. 4220. F–J, Cancellaria petuchi Harasewych, Petit
&Verhecken, 1992. Paratype, USNM 859409, off Vitória, Espı́rito Santo State, Brazil, trawled on sand
bottom at 40 m. K–O, Cancellaria coltrorum. Holotype, ANSP 455138, off Vitória, Espı́rito Santo State,
Brazil, trawled by local fisherman at 40–50 m. P–T, Cancellaria urceolata Hinds, 1843. USNM 684694, Palo
Seco, Canal Zone, Panama, at low tide. Scale bar ¼ 1 cm.
VOLUME 127, NUMBER 2 403

Fig. 2. Scanning electron micrographs of apical and lateral views of protoconchs. A, B, Cancellaria
coltrorum, holotype. Specimen in Fig. 1K–O. C, D, Cancellaria petuchi Harasewych, Petit &Verhecken, 1992,
paratype. Specimen in Fig. 1F–J. E, F. Cancellaria urceolata Hinds, 1843. Specimen in Fig. 1P–T. Scale bar ¼
1 mm.
404 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
into the aperture. Parietal callus thick in
adult specimens. Inner lip with 2 columellar
and 1 siphonal fold. Adapical fold largest,
overlaying siphonal fasciole. All folds with
single, sharp keel. Siphonal canal short,
broad, deflected dorsally and abaxially,
forming pronounced siphonal fasciole and
narrow pseudoumbilicus. Shell color white.
Occasional specimens irregularly mottled
with very faint light tan blotches. Aperture
white.
Type locality.—Off Vitória, Espı́rito
Santo State, Brazil, trawled at 40–50 m.
Material examined.—Holotype, ANSP
455138, (29.7 mm shell length); Paratype 1,
RPC 2624, from the type locality, trawled
at 40–45 m; Paratypes 2–5, USNM
1236596, from the type locality, trawled
at 30–40 m; Paratype 6, RPC 2676, 20
miles NW Abrolhos Archipelago, Bahı́a
State, Brazil, by diver.
Distribution.—This species occurs along
the coast of central Brazil, ranging from
the Abrolhos Archipelago (Bahı́a), to
Vitória (Espı́rito Santo) from subtidal
depths to 50 m.
Etymology.—This species is named in
honor of Marcus and José Coltro, found-
ers of FEMORALE, in recognition of their
long interest in shell collecting, and espe-
cially in the molluscan fauna of Brazil.
Over the years, they have made many
specimens available to researchers for
study and significantly advanced the
knowledge of Brazilian mollusks.
Comparative remarks.—Although the
geographic and bathymetric ranges of
Cancellaria coltrorum largely overlap with
those of C. petuchi, these two species are
easily distinguished by the morphology of
their shells. Cancellaria petuchi (Figs. 1F–J,
2C, D) has a larger, narrower shell with a
proportionally taller spire, a shorter aper-
ture that is widest along its anterior half, a
finely reticulate surface sculpture in which
the spiral cords are co-dominant or domi-
nant, especially in latter whorls, and a
distinctive color pattern of dark brown
spiral bands. In contrast, the shell of C.
coltrorum has a shorter, wider spire, a
proportionally larger aperture that is
broadest along its adapical half, a reticulate
sculpture that becomes more irregular and
dominated by axial ribs in latter whorls,
and is white or, faintly and irregularly
mottled with a very pale tan. Cancellaria
coltrorum also has a slightly smaller proto-
conch (both initial and final diameters)
more strongly shouldered early whorls, and
fewer and far weaker striae within the outer
lip. Both C. petuchi and C. coltrorum can be
differentiated from C. reticulata, which has
a shell with finer, more regularly reticulated
surface of co-dominant axial and spiral
sculpture, as well as an adapical columellar
fold that is thick and bifid rather than
narrowly keeled (Fig. 1A–E). Unlike C.
petuchi and C. coltrorum, C. reticulata does
not produce a thick callus that obscures the
sculpture along the parietal region.
Cancellaria coltrorum is similar to C.
urceolata Hinds, 1843 (Figs. 1P–T, 2E, F),
a variable and wide ranging species from
comparable depths of the tropical eastern
Pacific, in its coloration and prominent axial
sculpture but can be separated from this
species by its shorter, broader spire, propor-
tionally larger aperture, more evenly reticu-
lated sculpture on its early whorls, and far
weaker and shorter lirae within the outer lip.
Discussion
The family Cancellariidae has been an
important component of the tropical Amer-
ican marine faunas since the Neogene, with
a high level of endemicity and a rapid
turnover of species (Landau et al.
2012:194). These authors catalogued 154
species of Cancellariinae from the Neogene
to Recent fauna of the region, including 39
species of Cancellaria sensu stricto (Landau
et al. 2012:Tables 8a, b). Cancellaria s.s. is
among the oldest of the cancellariid groups
represented in this region, with four early
Miocene species, and reached its greatest
diversity (16 species) during the late Mio-
 VOLUME 127, NUMBER 2
cene. Cancellariinae are represented in the
fossil record of Brazil by five species, all
from early Miocene deposits (Pirabas For-
mation) of northern Brazil (Maury 1925).
All are based on partial specimens that were
judged to be too fragmentary for accurate
generic placement by Landau et al. (2012).
Of these, Cancellaria hartti Maury, 1925
resembles the Pliocene C. barretti Guppy,
1866 and the Pleistocene to Recent C.
reticulata, with which it shares a tall spire
and evenly reticulated surface sculpture, but
it lacks the strongly bifid adapical columel-
lar fold present in the younger species.
Cancellaria coltrorum, and to a lesser
extent, C. petuchi, resemble Cancellaria
mixta Landau, Petit & Silva, 2012 from
the late Miocene of Panama (middle-upper
Gatun Formation). All have a thick callus
along the columella and parietal region,
strong axial sculpture, a broadly rounded
shoulder, and lack a bifid adapical colu-
mellar fold. However, C. mixta has a taller
spire, narrower aperture, narrower, less
rounded axial ribs, and a protoconch that
has a larger number of whorls and a smaller
initial diameter. Cancellaria mixta is likely a
member of the lineage that gave rise to C.
petuchi and C. coltrorum in the Atlantic and
C. urceolata in the Pacific following the
formation of the Panama land bridge.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Marcus and José
Coltro for making available the type mate-
rial. Thanks to Yolanda Villacampa for
assistance with the SEM micrographs. We
appreciate the helpful comments from
Bernard Landau and an anonymous referee.
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