Terebra gemmulata Kiener, 1837

Terebra gemmulata Kiener, 1837 View in CoL ( Fig. 34 View Figure 34 A-G)

Type locality: Not stated (Am. mérid. in label).White Bay, Patagonia SD by Bratcher & Cernohorsky (1987).

Material examined: BRAZIL. Espírito Santo; off Vitória , 20°21′S 40°07′W, MZSP 152322 View Materials , 2 View Materials shells (Tarasconi leg, o.t., xi.2014) GoogleMaps . São Paulo; Peruíbe , off, 24°18′S 47°00′W, MZSP 120494 View Materials , 2 View Materials shells (Colella leg,o.t., xi.1968) GoogleMaps . Santa Catarina; Florianópolis , off, 27°50′57″S 48°35′20″W, 90 m, MZSP 136225 View Materials , 1 View Materials shell ( UFSM leg., o.t., x.2004) GoogleMaps . Rio Grande do Sul; Mostardas, off, 31°17′S 50°42′W, MZSP 32889 View Materials , 1 View Materials shell (Tarasconi leg., fishermen col., o.t., 10.xii.2000), 30°50′25.1″S 50°40′58.6″W, 20 m, MZSP 153121 View Materials , 3 View Materials shells (Tarasconi leg., o.t., xii.2000), Rio Grande , off, 32°02′06″S 52°05′56″W, MZSP 138376 View Materials , 1 View Materials shell (1985, UFSM leg.) GoogleMaps . ARGENTINA. Buenos Aires; Monte Hermoso , 38°59′30″S 61°17′42″W, MZSP 10718 View Materials , 17 View Materials shells (Bicego col., 1897) GoogleMaps ; Carmen de Patagones , 41°02′19″S 62°42′12″W, MZSP 10722 View Materials , 9 View Materials shells (Bicego col., 1897) GoogleMaps .

Remarks: Terebra gemmulata was recently reclassified within the genus Duplicaria Dall, 1908 by researchers such as Terryn (2007) and in MolluscaBase (2023). However, this genus is distinguished by the presence of a vestigial odontophore, a feature uncommon in conoideans ( Simone, 2011). An anatomical study of a closely related species to T. gemmulata (see below) revealed the absence of this characteristic. Notably, this species also lacks a venom apparatus altogether ( Simone, 1999, 2000, 2011). Species lacking these traits are typically assigned to the genus Terebra . Therefore, Terebra is considered the more appropriate genus for T.gemmulata .

Bratcher & Cernohorsky (1987) have already illustrat- ed its lectotype ( Fig. 34A, B View Figure 34 ). Despite the absence of a published type locality, the lectotype label indicates"Am. mérid." (South America). These authors associated the type locality of its synonym T. patagonica (baie Blanche, Patagonie) and designated"White Bay, Patagonia" as the type locality of T. gemmulata . Historically, its geographic distribution spanned from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, up to Chile, along the Pacific coast of the mainland. However, as argued below, the species appears to be more common along the coast of Argentina. In the MZSP collection, some rare samples were collected in deep waters in Brazilian coast, from Espírito Santo to Rio Grande do Sul.