Spondylus rippingalei Lamprell & Healy, 2001
LAMPRELL, K. L. & J. M. HEALY. 2001. Spondylidae (Bivalvia) from New Caledonia and adjacent waters. Mémoires du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 185: 111-163 (In: P. Bouchet & B. A. Marshall Eds., Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos 22). [p. 116, figs 1D-1F, 15J, 15K]
2001 Spondylus rippingalei Lamprell & Healy, 2001
K. L. Lamprell & J. M. Healy, 2001, figures 1, 15.
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«TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype AMS C171345, 3 paratypes QM, WAM, MNHN.
TYPE LOCALITY. — Australia, southern Queensland, Gneering Shoals, 6-30 m.
MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Western Australia. Horrocks Beach, north of Perth, on limestone ridges covered with sponges and algae, 27-30 m, colI. P. Clarkson 1994, 1 pv (paratype WAM 54.95).
Queensland. Southern Queensland, Gneering Shoals, dived 6-30 m, colI. W. Kordrupel 1987, 2 pv (holotype, and paratype QM M055748). — Southern Queensland, Tiger Cay, Swain Reefs, 1 pv (HC). — Central Queensland, Capricorn Channel, 140 m, 1988, 1 pv (KL). — Central Queensland, Keppel Bay, purchased from dealer, 1 pv (KL). Coral Sea. CORAIL 2: sta. DWI04, Chesterfield Plateau, 19°09' 'S, 158°36' E, 49 m, 1 pv (paratype MNHN, Figs 15 JK). New Caledonia. LAGON: sta. 1357, off Nouméa, Récif To, 22°30.2' S, 166°26.4' E, 25-35 m, 1 pv. DISTRIBUTION. — Western Australia, southern to central Queensland, to the west coast of New Caledonia. Attached to corals between 30 and 140 m.
DESCRIPTION. — Shell to 74 mm in height, ovate, often oblique, solid, inequivalve, auricles large. Lv convex, sculpture consists of numerous, principal radial ribs; interstices are of equal width with one or more minor ribs, ribs and interstices are ornamented with small dense imbricating spines with irregular, imbricating nodulous spines on the principal ribs, which become longer and recurved marginally; internal excavation under the hinge plate moderately shallow, margin strongly crenulate, stronger at the rib terminations. Rv convex, cup-shaped, much deeper than Iv; area of attachment large; sculpture similar to Iv; internal excavation under the hinge plate moderately deep; margin wide, strongly crenulated. Colour usually orange, brick-red or dark brown with darker concentric bands of orange-brown or white, principal ribs and umbonal area white; internally blue-white, margin red, orange or dark-brown.
Measurements of holotype: Height 55.3 mm, width 52.3 mm, depth of pv 36.8 mm. REMARKS. — Only two specimens of S. rippingalei were collected by the ORSTOM/MNHN expeditions. Of the other six specimens examined, five came from the southern Queensland region, and at first it appeared that the species may be very localized in its distribution. However, recent collecting off Horrocks Beach, Western Australia (Peter Clarkson, pers. comm.), has yielded a single, mature specimen (dead collected but fresh) definitely referable to S. rippingalei. Possibly further collecting will establish the presence of this species at other localities between Western Australia and the Queensland/New Caledonia region. Spondylus rippingalei can best be compared with S. candidus, which is also a very solid and often ovate shell, and S. maestratii, which also has an ovate shape and deeper rv. For comparisons between S. rippingalei and these species, see Tables 1 and 2.
ETYMOLOGY. — Named for the late Mr Ossie RIPPINGALE for his contribution to malacology through his books on shelled marine molluscs.»
KEVIN LESLIE LAMPRELL & JOHN M. HEALY, 2001
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