Belalora cunninghami (E. A. Smith, 1881 )

Sánchez, Noelia C., Aldea, Cristian & Pastorino, Guido, 2025, The conoidean genus Belalora Powell, 1951 (Gastropoda, Mangeliidae) under the magnifying glass: an exclusive inhabitant of Magellanic waters, Zoosystema 47 (8), pp. 125-132 : 126-131

Belalora cunninghami (E. A. Smith, 1881)

( Figs 1 ; 2 ; 3 )

Pleurotoma (Bela) cunninghami E. A. Smith, 1881: 27 , pl. 4, fig. 1. — Powell 1960: 161. — Tucker 2004: 269.

Bela cunninghami – Tryon 1884: fig. 18; pl. 34, fig. 75.

Bela cuninghami [sic] – Paetel 1888: 74.

Turris cunimghami [sic] – Carcelles & Williamson 1951: 305.

Belalora cunninghami – Castellanos & Landoni 1993: 19, pl. 1, fig. 8. — Linse 1999: 401. — Aldea et al. 2020: 10.

Turris cunninghami – Ramírez Böhme 1997: 144.

Oenopota cunninghami – Figueira & Absalão 2010: 475.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Syntypes. Chile • 4 specimens; Puerto Bueno ; 3.7-55 m depth; St. 2, HMS Alert; NHMUK 1879.10.15.2- 5 ( Fig. 1 A-H) .

OTHER MATERIAL. — Chile • 1 complete specimen; Sta. IN. 31- 25, Cordes Bay, Strait of Magellan, Marine Coastal Protected Area (MCPA) Francisco Coloane ; IV.2007; 10 m depth; MACN-In44475 • 3 complete specimens; E4-R2, Chonchi, Chiloé ; VII.2001; 15 m depth; MACN-In44476 .

Argentina • 2 complete specimens; off Mar del Plata , 100 m depth, 25.VIII.2000; MACN-In44477 • 3 empty shells; Malvinas/Falklands Is. ; MLP-Ma16311 • 1 empty shell; Bridges Island , Tierra del Fuego; CFA-IN-1136 .

TYPE LOCALITY. — Puerto Bueno, Chile, 2-30 fathoms (3.7-55 m) deep, St. 2, HMS Alert.

DISTRIBUTION. — Magellanic Region, from Chonchi, Chiloé Is., Chile in the Pacific Ocean, ranging between depths of 3.7 to 55 m, to off Mar del Plata, Argentina in the Atlantic Ocean, at a depth of 100 m. This distribution pattern is usual for Magellanic fauna, where species inhabiting shelf waters in the south reach the north following the cold Malvinas Current despite the apparently absence of free larvae ( Carcelles 1944; Pastorino & Griffin 2019; Chiesa et al. 2024 and literature cited therein).

DESCRIPTION

Shell

Small ( Figs 1 A-T; 2A, B), up to 10 mm, yellow, whitish or, opaque chalky; spire long; protoconch ( Fig. 2 D-F) globose, paucispiral, of c. 3 whorls (0.72 × 0.9 mm high and width respectively), first whorl half smooth and then spiral threads, second with spiral threads crossing by axial fine riblets; protoconch-teleoconch boundary somewhat defined; teleoconch of 5½ whorls slightly convex; suture deep; subsutural ramp concave; entire surface covered by pustules ( Fig. 2C ); axial ornamentation of thick, rounded, prominent ribs, regularly spaced extending throughout sutures, 5-8 on 1st, 8-12 on 2nd, 10-13 on 3rd, 12-13 on 4th increasing up to 15 on last whorl; spiral ornamentation of regularly spaced cords along all surface including subsutural ramp, but not fasciola, 10 on 1st, 13 on 2nd, 15 on 3rd, 20 on 4th increasing to 31 on last whorl. Columella straight, with thick callus. Siphonal canal short and wide. Aperture oval. Anal sinus deep on subsutural ramp. Radula ( Fig. 3A )

Of approximately 45 rows of marginal semi-rolled teeth. Tooth ( Fig. 3B, C ) short, c. 52 Μm long. Ligament present. Subradular membrane absent.

Penis ( Fig. 3D, E ) Long (1.4 mm for a shell height of 7.9 mm), flat.

Operculum Oval with terminal nucleus ( Fig. 3F ).

Eyes

At the base of short cephalic tentacles (0.62 mm for a shell height of 7.9 mm).

REMARKS

Tryon (1884: 222, pl. 33 in error, pl. 32, fig. 18) considered Fusus sublutus Gould, 1849 with unknown locality in the genus Bela and commented that B. cunninghami is possibly a synonym ( Tryon 1884: 222, pl. 34, fig. 75). In the same paragraph, he also indicated that this shell exhibits “the peculiar appearance of the Magellanic molluscan fauna”, including F.sublutus in this region without any clear proof. The holotype of F. sublutus housed at USNM 5684 and illustrated here ( Fig. 4 ) show more similarities with a buccinoidean than a conoidean. We agree with WoRMS (2024) and considered it taxon inquirendum.

Grant & Gale (1931: 531) in a general catalogue of Quaternary marine molluscs from California ( USA) synonymized Pleurotoma cunninghami and Lora equatorialis ( Dall, 1919) with Lora subluta ( Gould, 1849) , with no reason. There are two lots of Lora equatorialis Dall, 1919 in the USNM collection: USNM 97092 (illustrated here in Fig.5 A-C) from Reina Adelaida archipelago in the Strait of Magellan and USNM 97070 (some of them illustrated here in Figure 5 D-I) from Manta, Ecuador, not included in Dall’s original description. As far as can be seen, both lots undoubtedly belong to two different species. McLean (1971a: 712, fig. 1667) illustrated the Magellanic syntype and assigned the species to the genus Leucosyrinx Dall, 1889 with doubts. In a different work, he illustrated the radula of one specimen ( McLean 1971b: 120, fig. 38) from USNM 97070 (from Manta, Ecuador) and, this time, truly assigned it to Leucosyrinx . This radula dissected by McLean and the shells of the USNM 97070 identified by him as Leucosyrinx equatorialis are very different from the material here included in Belalora . In addition, Dall’s syntype ( USNM 97092, Fig. 5 A-C) of Lora equatorialis is not a conoidean but a Buccinoidean of the genus Pareuthria Strebel, 1905 (probably P. atrata (E. A. Smith, 1881)) .

Barnard (1963: 606) pointed out some similarities between Drillia spiralis Barnard, 1958 from Cape St. Blaize, South Africa, and Belalora thielei , however, he decided to maintain D. spiralis as a valid name. After observing a photograph of the holotype of D. spiralis (herein Fig. 4 G-I), we concluded that this is a different species with no relation with Belalora .

Castellanos & Landoni (1993) mentioned that B. thielei would be a synonym of B. cunninghami . Both species have a similar shell with sympatric distribution. However, as far as it can be seen in the holotype, the only specimen available for comparison, the main difference appears to be the wider shell and lower spire of B. thielei .

Forcelli (2000: 111, fig. 331) and Forcelli & Narosky (2015: 204, pl. 6, fig. 2) referred to Oenopota cunninghami and B. thielei as synonyms, although the specimen they illustrate does not correspond to either species.

Figures

FIG. 1. — Belalora cunninghami (E. A. Smith, 1881): A-H, Pleurotoma (Bela) cunninghami E. A. Smith, 1881, syntypes, NHMUK 1879.10.15.2-5, Puerto Bueno, 2-30 fathoms (3.7-55 m) depth; I-M, St. 6, off Mar del Plata, Argentina, 100 m depth, MACN-In44477; N-P, E4-R2, Chonchi, Chiloé, Chile, 15 m depth, MACN- In44476;Q, R, Sta. IN. 31-25, Cordes Bay, Strait of Magellan,MCPA Francisco Coloane,Chile, 10 m depth, IV.2007, MACN-In44475; S, T, Belalora thielei Powell, 1951, Holotype, NHMUK 1961613, 48°26’15”S, 61°28’W, NW of Malvinas/Falklands Is., 165-165 m depth. Scale bar: 5 mm.

FIG. 2. — Belalora cunninghami (E. A. Smith, 1881), MLP-Ma16311, Malvinas/Falklands Is.: A, B, two views of the shell; C, detail of the same shell showing the pustules on the teleoconch; D-F, three views of the protoconch of another specimen, Scale bars: A, B, 1 mm; C, 100 μm; D-F, 500 μm.

FIG. 3. – Belalora cunninghami (E. A. Smith, 1881). MACN-In44477, off Mar del Plata, Argentina, to 100 m depth: A, radula; B, detail of a tooth; C, detail of the end of the teeth; D, penis; E, detail of the penis tip. E4-R2, Chonchi, Chiloé, Chile, 15 m depth, MACN-In44476; F, operculum, internal and external views. Scale bars: A, 20 μm; B, C, 10 μm; D, 200 μm; E, 100 μm; F, 500 μm.

FIG. 4. – Fusus sublutus Gould, 1849: A-C, holotype, USNM 5684, unknown locality, three views of the shell. Scale bar: 5 mm.

FIG. 5. — Lora equatorialis Dall, 1919: A-C, syntype, USNM 97092, Sta. 2783, 51°43’34.3”S, 72°30’21.6”W, Reina Adelaida Archipielago, Strait of Magellan, West mouth of Straits, 122 fathoms (223 m), three views of the shell; D-I, USNM 97070, Sta. 2792, 0°37’0.12”S, 81°W, West of Manta Bay, Ecuador, 401 fathoms (c. 733.8 m). Scale bar: 1 cm.