Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy of some southern Australian and New Zealand Muricidae (Mollusca: Neogastropoda)

Abstract

A phylogenetic analysis of intertidal southern Australian and New Zealand species of muricid gastropods based principally on anatomical characters revealed the existence of two major clades. Dicathais orbita, Neothais smithi, Agnewia tritoniformis, 'Lepsiella' botanica and 'L.' reticulata were found to belong to the same monophyletic group as the Indo-Pacific species Rapana venosa and the tropical East Atlantic species Thais nodosa. These species are now generally referable to the subfamily Rapaninae, a sister taxon to the Ocenebrinae. The other major clade contains the following species: Xymene ambiguus, Paratrophon quoyi, Haustrum haustorium, Lepsithais lacunosa, Lepsiella scobina, L. vinosa, L. (Bedeva) paivae, L. baileyana and L. flindersi. Of these, Xymene and Paratrophon form a sister taxon to the rest of the taxa contained in this clade. Shell, radula and anatomical descriptions as well as the geographical distributions of 12 of the above-mentioned muricid gastropod species are given. Their relationships are also discussed in the light of results provided by the cladistic analysis. A new subfamily and a new genus are proposed based on these studies.