Conus (Klemaeconus) whiteheadae da Motta 1985
Creators: name: Tenorio, Manuel J.
name: Puillandre, Nicolas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Neogastropoda
Conidae
Conus
Conus whiteheadae

description: Conus (Klemaeconus) whiteheadae da Motta, 1985
Figs 2, 59–60
Conus whiteheadae da Motta, 1985: 26, fig. 3a–b.
Conus sugimotonis – R̂ckel et al. 1995b: pl. 25 fig. 22.
Kioconus sugimotonis f. whiteheadae – Tucker & Tenorio 2013: 421.
Continuconus sugimotonis f. whiteheadae – Monnier et al. 2018a: 331, figs 1, 3–4.
Material examined
11 lots (13 specimens). See Supp. file 1.
Type material
Holotype AUSTRALIA • 96.5 mm; Vicinity of Lord Howe and Lady Musgrave Islands; MHNG MOLL-138918 (Fig. 59A).
Figured material
NEW CALEDONIA • 44 mm; N Bellona, off New Caledonia, stn CP2571; 20º25′ S, 158º45′ E; 298‒309 m depth; 14 Oct. 2005; EBISCO expedition; MNHN (Fig. 59B–C, M) • 57.7 mm; Bellona Plateau, off New Caledonia, stn DW5017; 21°09′ S, 159°11′ E; 300 m depth; 20 Sep. 2017; KANADEEP expedition; MNHN-IM-2013-48182 (Fig. 59D) • 53.6 mm; Nova Bank, off New Caledonia, stn DW5001; 22°30′ S, 159°24′ E; 320‒330 m depth; 18 Sep. 2017; KANADEEP expedition; MNHN-IM-2013-48183 (Fig. 59E) • 54.3 mm; Plateau des Chesterfield, off New Caledonia, stn DW4974; 19°47′ S, 158°36′ E; 460‒490 m depth; 9 Sep. 2017; KANADEEP expedition; MNHN-IM-2013-48185 (Fig. 59F) • 68.8 mm; Coral Sea, Banc Capel, off New Caledonia, stn DW274; 24º45′ S, 159º41′ E; 285 m depth; 9 Oct. 1986; MUSORSTOM 5 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 59G–H) • 54.6 mm; S Lansdowne Bank, off New Caledonia, stn CP4984; 20°47′ S, 160°57′ E; 410‒430 m depth; 10 Sep. 2017; KANADEEP expedition; MNHNIM- 2013-48190 (Fig. 59I) • 51.6 mm; Nova Bank, off New Caledonia, stn CP5003; 22°30′ S, 159°27′ E; 330‒335 m depth; 18 Sep. 2017; KANADEEP expedition; MNHN-IM-2013-48188 (Fig. 59L)
AUSTRALIA • 80.1 mm; off Lady Elliot Island, Queensland; MJT (Fig. 59J–K).
Geographical distribution and bathymetry
Australia (Queensland) and Coral Sea, at depths between 200 and 500 m.
Remarks
Shell moderately large to large (maximum shell length 103 mm), conical, with a low spire of concave profile. Early whorls project from an essentially flat spire, occasionally slightly domed. Last whorl with a characteristic very pale violet uniform color, especially in fresh specimens. Radular tooth (Fig. 59M) elongated, with the anterior section longer than the posterior section. The tooth is serrated with 40– 42 denticles arranged in one single row, splitting into two rows in the basal area towards the small terminating cusp. Barb well marked. Blade rounded, covering about one third of the anterior section of the tooth. Basal spur pointing upwards on top of the rounded base. Although initially introduced as a full species by da Motta (1985), it has usually been considered a subspecies or form of Conus (Klemaeconus) sugimotonis Kuroda, 1929. In our phylogeny (Fig. 2) the specimens of C. (K.) whiteheadae examined form a clade sister to C. (K.) plinthis. The specimens of C. (K.) sugimotonis from China are distinct by DNA, and belong to a clade which is sister to the one that includes C. (K.) plinthis and C. (K.) whiteheadae. Hence, our DNA data support C. (K.) whiteheadae as a full species rather than a form of C. (K.) sugimotonis, with a distribution area most likely restricted to the Coral Sea and its surroundings.
description: Published as part of Tenorio, Manuel J. & Puillandre, Nicolas, 2023, Revision of the deep-water cone snail fauna from New Caledonia (Gastropoda, Conoidea), pp. 1-134 in European Journal of Taxonomy 896 on pages 79-81, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.896.2291, http://zenodo.org/record/8405510