Colubrariidae

Colubraria muricata, copyright G. & Ph. Poppe.

Belongs within: Muricoidea.

The Colubrariidae, dwarf tritons, are a group of small gastropods found in warm, shallow waters. Members of the genus Colubraria lack a radula, though a minute rachiglossate radula is present in members of the genus Metula (Bouchet 1988). Colubraria species use their long and thin proboscis to feed on the blood of resting or slow-moving fish.

Characters (from Wilson & Gillett 1971): Shell long, narrow, fusiform, with strong varices, granulose or nodulose sculpture, and usually a calloused and reflected columella. Anterior canal short and up-turned; posterior canal represented by weak notch only at posterior end of aperture. Operculum horny, with terminal nucleus.

<==Colubrariidae
    |--Metula Adams & Adams 1853 ZLK11, B88 [incl. Bartschia Rehder 1943 B88]
    |    |--*M. clathrata (Adams & Reeve 1850) [=Buccinum clathratum, M. knudseni Kilburn 1975] B88
    |    |--M. africana Bouchet 1988 [incl. M. clathrata Knudsen 1956 non Buccinum clathratum Adams & Reeve 1850] B88
    |    |--M. amosi Vanatta 1913 B88
    |    |--M. boswellae Kilburn 1975 ES88
    |    |--M. crosnieri Bouchet 1988 B88
    |    |--M. cumingi (Adams 1853) B88
    |    |--M. mitraeformis (Brocchi 1814) B88
    |    `--M. significans (Rehder 1943) [=*Bartschia significans] B88
    |--Colubraria Schumacher 1817 [Colubrariinae] BR05
    |    |--C. antiquata (Hinds 1844) [=Triton antiquata] H09
    |    |--C. castanea Kuroda & Habe 1952 MG-H11
    |    |--C. maculosa Gmelin 1791 WG71
    |    |--C. muricata (Lightfoot 1786) BW09
    |    |--C. obscura ZLK11
    |    |--C. reticulata ZLK11
    |    |--C. (Colubraria) siphonata (Reeve 1844) PP78
    |    |--C. tessellata (Reeve 1844) [=Triton tessellata] H09
    |    `--C. tortuosa Reeve 1844 WG71
    `--Fusus Helbling 1779 (nom. rej.) [Fusidae] BR05
         |--*F. reticulatus P61
         |--F. brazieri (Angas 1869) MG-H11
         |--F. cancellatus Mighels & Adams 1842 J49
         |--F. colosseus F66
         |--F. corrugatus Reeve 1848 F27
         |--F. exilis Menke 1843 F27
         |--F. hexagonalis Tate 1888 F27
         |--F. ino Tenison-Woods 1879 F71
         |--F. longicauda H04
         |--F. marmoratus P71
         |--F. mestayerae Iredale 1915 P61
         |--F. spinifer Bellardi 1873 F27
         |--F. styliformis Tenison-Woods 1879 F71
         `--F. veneratus K79

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B88] Bouchet, P. 1988. Two new species of Metula (Gastropoda: Buccinidae) with a description of the radula of the genus. Nautilus 102 (4): 149–153.

[BR05] Bouchet, P., & J.-P. Rocroi. 2005. Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia 47 (1–2): 1–397.

[BW09] Bryce, C., & C. Whisson. 2009. The macromolluscs of Mermaid (Rowley Shoals), Scott and Seringapatam Reefs, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 77: 177–208.

[ES88] Emerson, W. K., & W. E. Sage III. 1988. A new species of Vasum (Gastropoda: Turbinellidae) from off Somalia. Nautilus 102 (1): 36–39.

[F27] Finlay, H. J. 1927. New specific names for austral Mollusca. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 488–533.

[F71] Fletcher, H. O. 1971. Catalogue of type specimens of fossils in the Australian Museum, Sydney. Australian Museum Memoir 13: 1–167.

[F66] Fraser, L. 1866. Communication of a list of mollusks collected by R. Swinhoe, Esq., in Formosa. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 146.

[H04] Haeckel, E. 1899–1904. Kunstformen der Natur. Bibliographisches Institut: Leipzig und Wien.

[H09] Hedley, C. 1909. The Marine Fauna of Queensland: Address by the President of Section D. Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science: Brisbane.

[J49] Johnson, R. I. 1949. Jesse Wedgwood Mighels with a bibliography and a catalogue of his species. Occasional Papers on Mollusks 1 (14): 213–231.

[K79] Kauffman, E. G. 1979. Cretaceous. In: Robison, R. A., & C. Teichert (eds) Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology pt A. Introduction. Fossilisation (Taphonomy), Biogeography and Biostratigraphy pp. A418–A487. The Geological Society of America, Inc.: Boulder (Colorado), and The University of Kansas: Lawrence (Kansas).

[MG-H11] McEnnulty, F. R., K. L. Gowlett-Holmes, A. Williams, F. Althaus, J. Fromont, G. C. B. Poore, T. D. O’Hara, L. Marsh, P. Kott, S. Slack-Smith, P. Alderslade & M. V. Kitahara. 2011. The deepwater megabenthic invertebrates on the western continental margin of Australia (100–1100 m depths): composition, distribution and novelty. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 80: 1–191.

[PP78] Poorman, F. L., & L. H. Poorman. 1978. Additional molluscan records from Bahía de Los Angeles, Baja California Norte. Veliger 20 (4): 369–374.

[P71] Por, F. D. 1971. One hundred years of Suez Canal—a century of Lessepsian migration: retrospect and viewpoints. Systematic Zoology 20 (2): 138–159.

[P61] Powell, A. W. B. 1961. Shells of New Zealand: An illustrated handbook 4^th ed. Whitcombe and Tombs Limited: Christchurch.

[WG71] Wilson, B. R., & K. Gillett. 1971. Australian Shells: illustrating and describing 600 species of marine gastropods found in Australian waters. A. H. & A. W. Reed: Sydney.

[ZLK11] Zou, S., Q. Li & L. Kong. 2011. Additional gene data and increased sampling give new insights into the phylogenetic relationships of Neogastropoda, within the caenogastropod phylogenetic framework. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61: 425–435.