Bouchetaria (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae), a new genus for the Riddle cowry, B. aenigma (Lorenz 2002), from the deep waters of the Mozambique Channel

Abstract

Based on molecular and conchological features, a new genus, Bouchetaria, is proposed for the Cypraeidae species Nesiocypraea aenigma Lorenz 2002. Molecular analysis of cox1 and 16S genes places Bouchetaria within a monophyletic group—composed of the genera Propustularia, Nesiocypraea, Ipsa, Perisserosa, Cryptocypraea, and Nucleolaria—appearing as the sister group to all other living Cypraeidae. This group corresponds to the Erosariinae (sensu Lorenz & Hubert, 1993). The cox1 pairwise genetic distances between Bouchetaria aenigma and its closest taxa, Propustularia surinamensis and Nesiocypraea teramachii correspond to 15% and 17% difference, respectively. Morphologically, the sole species of the genus Bouchetaria differs from other Erosariinae genera by the near absence of darker color pattern, and denser and longer dentition, which extends onto the labrum and towards the base, where it forms branches. These morphological characters justify the edification of a new genus: Bouchetaria. Consistent with its multispiral protoconch, Bouchetaria aenigma has a fairly wide range in the deep-sea of the Mozambique Channel, from the northern coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, to the northern tip of Madagascar and the Glorioso Islands.