Conasprella (Boucheticonus) alisi
Creators: name: Tenorio, Manuel J.
name: Puillandre, Nicolas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Neogastropoda
Conidae
Conasprella
Conasprella alisi

description: Conasprella (Boucheticonus) alisi (R̂ckel, Richard & Moolenbeek, 1995)
Figs 2, 23–24
Conus alisi R̂ckel et al., 1995a: 579, figs 2, 4–5.
Conus species no. 19 – R̂ckel et al. 1995b: pl. 72 figs 21–22.
Boucheticonus alisi – Tucker & Tenorio 2013: 78. — Monnier et al. 2018a: 207.
Material examined
211 lots (about 495 specimens). See Supp. file 1.
Type material
Holotype NEW CALEDONIA • 22.2 mm; Norfolk Ridge, Banc Aztèque, off New Caledonia, stn DW183; 23°18′ S, 168°05′ E; 330–367 m depth; 31 Jan. 1993; SMIB 8 expedition; MNHN-IM-2000-2588 (Fig. 23A).
Figured material
NEW CALEDONIA • 20.5 mm; Norfolk Ridge, Jumeau Ouest, off New Caledonia, stn CP3055; 23°42′ S, 168°01′ E; 250–320 m depth; 20 Oct. 2008; TERRASSES expedition; MNHN (Fig. 23B) • 27.7 mm; off N New Caledonia, stn DW926; 18º57′ S, 163º25′ E; 325–330 m depth; 7 Aug. 1994; BATHUS 4 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 23C) • 25 mm; off New Caledonia, stn DW230; 22º52′ S, 167º12′ E; 390–420 m depth; 30 Sep. 1985; MUSORSTOM 4 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 23D) • 20.3 mm; Norfolk Ridge, off New Caledonia, stn CP806; 23º42′ S, 168º01′ E; 308–312 m depth; 27 Nov. 1993; BATHUS 3 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 23E) • 18.7 mm; Norfolk Ridge, Banc P, off New Caledonia, stn DW1729; 23º20′ S, 168º16′ E; 340–619 m depth; 27 Jun. 2001; NORFOLK 1 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 23F) • 21.7 mm; same collection data as for preceding; MNHN (Fig. 23G) • 20.2 mm; same collection data as for preceding; MNHN (Fig. 23H) • 18 mm; Norfolk Ridge, Banc P, off New Caledonia, stn DW1728; 23º19′ S, 168º15′ E; 207–276 m depth; 27 Jun. 2001; NORFOLK 1 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 23I) • 19.1 mm; Norfolk Ridge, Banc P, off New Caledonia, stn DW1729; 23º20′ S, 168º16′ E; 340–619 m depth; 27 Jun. 2001; NORFOLK 1 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 23J) • 18 mm; Norfolk Ridge, Jumeau Ouest, off New Caledonia, stn DW3056; 23°42′ S, 168°01′ E; 250–330 m depth; 20 Oct. 2008; TERRASSES expedition; MNHN (Fig. 23K) • 20 mm; Norfolk Ridge, off New Caledonia, stn DW830; 23º20′ S, 168º01′ E; 361–365 m depth; 29 Nov. 1993; BATHUS 3 expedition; MNHN (Fig. 23L) • 19 mm; Grand Passage, off N New Caledonia, stn DW2964; 18º18′ S, 162º57′ E; 256–270 m depth; 02 May 2008; CONCALIS expedition; Atheris coll. (Fig. 23M).
Geographical distribution and bathymetry
New Caledonia: Norfolk Ridge and Grand Passage area, Loyalty Ridge and Coral Sea (Lansdowne Bank and Bellona Plateau), typically at depths between 200–500 m (Fig. 24). This species can be considered endemic.
Remarks
Conical shell small to moderately small (maximum length 30 mm), slightly pyriform. Protoconch (Fig. 23L) multispiral, pointed, of 4.5–5 whorls. Protoconch white with a peculiar brown blotch on fourth whorl. Spire slightly stepped, of moderate height, with a slightly convex outline. Radular tooth (Fig. 23M) large, very elongated with an extremely long anterior section that is more than four times as long as the posterior section of the tooth. Barb small and indistinct, with a blade that is enlarged and widened laterally. Serrations absent. Waist indistinct. Shaft fold not well developed but present. Slanted base with a large basal spur. This is one of the most abundant deep-water species of Conidae in New Caledonia. In spite of its large multispiral protoconch, the species can be considered endemic. It is highly variable in pattern and color. Pustulose specimens (Fig. 23I), with a somehow weird aspect, are not uncommon, but their identification is often confusing. In the phylogeny (Fig. 2), the specimens of C. alisi sequenced form a clade sister to Conasprella cf. pseudokimioi.
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 34-36, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.896.2291, http://zenodo.org/record/8405510