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Strombus 28(1-2), 6–11, 2022
https://strombusjournal.org
Copyright © 2022 Conquiliologistas do Brasil
• 6 •
Article received on July 29 2022
Article accepted on September 8 2022
RESEARCH ARTICLE
New distributional record of deep-water Phos gemmulifer Kilburn, 2000
(Buccinoidea: Nassariidae) from the Andaman Sea
Raveendhiran Ravinesh1,2,*, Kinattum Kara Bineesh3, Muthukrishnan Subramanian4,
Manjebrayakath Hashim4
1Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram 695581, Kerala, India.
2Coastal and Marine Ecology Division, Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, Gujarat, India.
3Southern Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, 130 Santhome High Road, Chennai- 600 028, Tamil Nadu,
India.
4Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Cochin, India.
*Corresponding author: ravineshr08@gmail.com
Ravinesh R., Bineesh K.K., Subramanian M., Hashim M. (2022) New distributional record of deep-water Phos
gemmulifer Kilburn, 2000 (Buccinoidea: Nassariidae) from the Andaman Sea. Strombus 28(1–2): 6–11.
Abstract: The present paper records the occurrence of Phos gemmulifer Kilburn, 2000 in the Great
Nicobar Islands, Andaman Sea. The record of the specimen from the Andaman Sea shows the
extended distribution of the species from Mozambique, East Africa, to the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands.
Keywords: geographic distribution, Indian Ocean, Neogastropoda, range extension.
INTRODUCTION
The members of the family Nassariidae Iredale, 1916 (1835), are commonly known as Nassa
mud snails or dog whelks, mostly inhabiting soft bottoms and rocky shores. Over 1320 species have
been described (Galindo et al. 2016). In India, three subfamilies, 12 genera, and 72 species were
recorded (Tripathy & Mukhopadhyay 2015). The subfamily Photinae Gray, 1857 comprises seven
genera, namely Antillophos Woodring, 1928, Engoniophos Woodring, 1928, Metaphos Olsson, 1964,
Neoteron Pilsbry & H. N. Lowe, 1932, Northia Gray, 1847, Phos Montfort, 1810 and Strombinophos
Pilsbry & Olsson, 1941(MolluscaBase 2022a). The genus Phos Montfort, 1810 consists of 55 valid
species (MolluscaBase 2022b) of which eight species are recorded from India. These are Phos
blainvillei (Deshayes, 1833), P. nodicostatus A. Adams, 1851, P. retecosus Hinds, 1844, P. roseatus
Hinds, 1844, P. rufocinctus A. Adams, 1851, P. senticosus (Linnaeus, 1758), P. textilis A. Adams, 1851,
and P. textus (Gmelin, 1791) (Smith 1878; Standen & Leicester 1906; Nagabhushanam & Rao 1972;
Appukuttan et al. 1989; Rao & Rao 1991; Rao & Dey 2000; Hylleberg & Kilburn 2002; Rao 2003;
Venkataraman et al. 2004, 2012; Apte 2014; Ravinesh & Biju Kumar 2015; Edward et al. 2022). In this
paper, we report the first record and occurrence of Phos gemmulifer Kilburn, 2000 from the Andaman
Sea, off Great Nicobar Island, India.
Ravinesh et al.: New record of Phos gemmulifer from the Andaman Sea
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Strombus 28, 6–11, 2022.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The specimens of Phos gemmulifer were collected during the deep-sea exploratory fishery
surveys of FORV Sagar Sampada (FORV SS) conducted by the Centre for Marine Living Resources and
Ecology (CMLRE) along the Nicobar Islands. The specimens were collected by a High-Speed Demersal
Trawl-Crustacean Version (HSDT-CV) operated at a speed of 2.5 knots, off the Andaman coast of India
(110138.4 N, 9330007E). Targeted organisms were segregated from the trawl catch and preserved
in 70% ethanol. The specimens herein reported were identified using the keys suggested by Kilburn
(2000). Cleaned specimens were photographed and shell length (SL) and shell width (SW)
measurements were taken in millimetres (mm) using a Vernier calliper. The specimens are deposited
in the National Zoological Collections of Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional
Centre, Port Blair (ZSI/ANRC) and the Department of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, University of Kerala
(DABF/UK). The map indicating the localities (Fig. 1) was generated using GeoMapApp (http://www.
geomapapp.org).
Figure 1. Distribution of Phos gemmulifer. Yellow pentagon indicates the present record in the Andaman Sea,
and the red square represents the previous known record in East Africa.
Ravinesh et al.: New record of Phos gemmulifer from the Andaman Sea
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Strombus 28, 6–11, 2022.
TAXONOMY
Superfamily Buccinoidea Rafinesque, 1815
Family Nassariidae Iredale, 1916 (1835)
Subfamily Photinae Gray, 1857
Genus Phos Montfort, 1810
Phos gemmulifer Kilburn, 2000
(Fig. 2)
Phos (Phos) gemmulifer Kilburn, 2000: 204, 205, figs. 1, 2.
Antillophos gemmulifer: Kilburn et al. 2010: 25.
Phos gemmulifer: Fraussen et al. 2020: 147, 148, figs. 1D, E.
Material examined: 1 ex. SL 23 mm × SW 11 mm (ZSI/ANRC-23592), 1 ex. SL 23 mm × SW 11 mm
(DABFUK, no. 1424), 1 ex. SL 21 mm × SW 10 mm (DABFUK, no. 1424), Andaman Sea, off Great
Nicobar Island, India, 11°01'38.4'' N, 93°30'00.7''E, 400–450 m depth on the sandy bottom, collected
by K. K. Bineesh 18/Nov/2018.
Diagnosis: Shell c. 23 mm in length. Shape broadly fusiform with moderately high spire, strongly
convex whorls and deep suture, cancellated sculpture. Widely spaced axial ribs form big rounded
knobs crossing the broad, flattened spiral cords. Outer lip thick with 9 or 10 thin but moderately sharp
internal lirae, low lirae extending into aperture. Inner lip with a thick callus bearing a low parietal
ridge and 2 oblique, tooth-like columellar ridges. Colour cream to pale brown.
Figure 2. Phos gemmulifer (ZSI/ANRC-23592), Great Nicobar Islands (11°01'38.4'' N, 93°30'00.7''E) of
Andaman Sea, India, in dorsal, apertural and lateral views.
Ravinesh et al.: New record of Phos gemmulifer from the Andaman Sea
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Strombus 28, 6–11, 2022.
Remarks: Phos gemmulifer closely resembles the Gulf of Mannar Phos retecosus Hinds, 1844 (Fig. 3).
But this species differs from it by a strong spiral intermediary between each pair of spiral lirae,
nodules that are more sharply defined (instead of smoothly rounded), and two additional denticles
on the upper part of its columella.
Figure 3. Phos retecosus (DABFUK no. 1426), Gulf of Mannar, Lakshadweep Sea, India, in dorsal, apertural and
lateral views.
Table 1. List of Phos spp. recorded from India.
DISCUSSION
Kilburn (2000) described Phos gemmulifer from southern Mozambique, East Africa, and Kilburn
et al. (2010) and Fraussen et al. (2020) recorded it from the same locality. Hence, our record of the
Species Distribution References
Phos blainvillei (Deshayes, 1833) Andaman and Nicobar Islands Venkataraman et al. 2004, 2012
Phos nodicostatus A. Adams, 1851 Tamil Nadu Standen & Leicester 1906; Hylleberg & Kilburn 2002
Phos retecosus (Hinds, 1844) Tamil Nadu Standen & Leicester 1906; Hylleberg & Kilburn 2002
Phos roseatus Hinds, 1844
Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu,
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Smith 1878; Nagabhushanam & Rao 1972; Rao & Rao
1991; Venkataraman et al. 2004, 2012; Edward et al. 2022
Phos rufocinctus A. Adams, 1851 Andaman and Nicobar Islands Melvill & Sykes 1897
Phos senticosus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Lakshadweep, Andaman and
Nicobar Islands
Smith 1878; Appukuttan et al. 1989; Rao & Dey 2000; Rao
2003; Venkataraman et al. 2004, 2012; Ravinesh & Biju
Kumar 2015
Phos textilis A. Adams,1851 Lakshadweep Rao & Rao 1991; Apte, 2014; Ravinesh & Biju Kumar 2015
Phos textus (Gmelin, 1791)
Lakshadweep, Andaman and
Nicobar Islands
Smith 1878; Rao & Dey 2000; Rao 2003; Venkataraman et
al. 2004, 2012
Ravinesh et al.: New record of Phos gemmulifer from the Andaman Sea
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Strombus 28, 6–11, 2022.
species from India, approximately 4500 km away from the previous known locality, Quissico–Zavora
area of southern Mozambique, represents a significant range extension to the Eastern Indian Ocean
(Andaman Sea). Notably, the Mozambique specimens were collected from depths of 200–300 m, while
the Indian specimens were collected from depths of 400–450 m.
This is the ninth record of Phos species from India. The diversity of the genus Phos recorded
from different locations of India (Table 1) shows a maximum on Andaman and Nicobar Islands (5
species), followed by Lakshadweep (4 species) and Tamil Nadu (3 species). The current record is not
surprising, considering that deep water molluscs are the least studied in Indian coastal waters (Biju
Kumar & Ravinesh 2015). More deep-water exploratory surveys and studies are still required to
obtain a fuller understanding of the molluscan taxonomy and diversity of the Indian waters.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the Director, Zoological Survey of India, for the permission and support to
participate in the surveys. We are grateful to the Director, Centre for Marine Living Resources and
Ecology (CMLRE), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India, for the support and facilities
provided during the study. We express our sincere thanks to the captain, fishing master, all crew
members and scientific participants of FORV Sagar Sampada cruise No 367 for their wholehearted
support during the sample collections. Thanks are also due to Koen Fraussen, Muséum nationale
d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France, for confirming the species identification. We thank the two
anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and improvements to the manuscript. This is
CMLRE contribution number 161.
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