A new record of Quasimitra cardinalis (Gmelin, 1791) (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from the Lakshadweep islands, India

Deepak Apte
Bombay Natural History Society, spiderconch@gmail.com 
Abstract
Family Mitridae is well represented in India with 60 species till date. The current find extends the range of Quasimitra cardinalis (Gmelin, 1791) to the Lakshadweep islands on the west coast of India.
Key words
Quasimitra, Mollusca, Mitridae, Lakshadweep, AICOPTAX
Introduction
Lakshadweep, on the west coast of India, is a small union territory comprising 36 islands with total lagoon area of 4200 sq. km. Among invertebrates, marine molluscan fauna is well studied in the Lakshadweep islands. The most recent checklist published by Ravinesh and Biju Kumar (2015) includes 768 species classified under 4 classes, 37 orders, 72 super families, 140 families and 377 genera. However, validation of several species is necessary considering several misidentifications. Among the 768 species in their list, family Mitridae is represented by 24 species. The present find is a part of our ongoing work in the Lakshadweep islands under the All India Co-ordinated Project on Taxonomy (AICOPTAX) – Mollusca programme.
Material and methods
During the survey of inter-tidal reefs at Kavaratti (10°32'51.17"N & 72°37'29.08"E) on  January 29, 2018, I came across 2 specimens of Quasimitra cardinalis (Gmelin, 1791). Morphological measurements such as the shell length and shell width were recorded to the nearest millimetre. Specimens were deposited in the collections of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS GASTRO- 1071).
Results and discussion

Systematic accounts
Phylum: Mollusca Linnaeus, 1758
Class: Gastropoda Cuvier, 1795
Superfamily: Mitroidea Swainson, 1831
Family: Mitridae Swainson, 1831  
Genus: Quasimitra Fedosov, Herrmann, Kantor & Bouchet, 2018 
Species: cardinalis 

Synonym: Voluta pertusa Born, 1780 (non Linnaeus, 1758); Voluta cardinalis Gronovius, 1781; Voluta cardinalis Gmelin, 1791 (original combination); Mitra cardinalis (Gmelin, 1791); Mitra (Mitra) cardinalis (Gmelin, 1791) accepted, alternate representation; Mitra vermiculosa Martyn, 1784; Mitra monachialis Röding, 1798; Mitra archiepiscopalis Lamarck, 1811; Mitra cardinalis Lamarck, 1811; Mitra pertusa Swainson, 1822; Mitra lamarckii Deshayes, 1838 (non Deshayes, 1832); Mitra vermiculata Dall, 1905.
Materials examined
Number of specimens: 2.
Shell measurement: Length: 38 mm and 33 mm; Width 15 mm and 12 mm.
Collection locations: Kavaratti Island, Lakshadweep Archipelago, India.
Distribution: Widely distributed from Madagascar to Polynesia (Cernohorsky, 1976). It is also reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India (Subba Rao and Dey 2000).
Description
Shell is solid and ovate. Colour is white having rows of dark brown to light orange spots. Few dark brown blotches are seen. Shell has punctated spiral grooves and axial striae. Columella has 4–5 oblique folds. Outer lip near the anterior siphonal canal has a few tiny spinal projections (Fig 1: A & B). 
Conclusion
In all, Family Mitridae is well represented in India. Subba Rao and Dey (1983) undertook a thorough review of family Mitridae from India and found represented by 45 species. Subba Rao (2013) reiterates the known species count as being 45. Dey (2016) reported 59 species that are found in India of which 3 found to be doubtful. Rao and Rao (1991) reported 15 species belonging to Mitridae from Lakshadweep Islands, and Ravinesh and Biju Kumar (2015) reported 24 species. Our thorough literature review, however, revealed the presence of 60 species along the Indian coast (Table 1). Fedosov et al. (2018) recently re-organised family Mitridae based on integrative taxonomy that include an erection of the separate family Charitodoronidae and establish 11 new genera: Quasimitra, Roseomitra, Fusidomiporta, Profundimitra, Cancillopsis, Pseudonebularia, Gemmulimitra and Neotiara in Mitrinae; Imbricariopsis in Imbricariinae; Carinomitra and Condylomitra are left unassigned to a subfamily. Nominal genera such as Dibaphus, Mitroidea and Mutyca are now synonyms of Genus Nebularia. An updated list of Indian Mitridae based on Fedosov et al. (2018) is provided in (Table 1).

References
CERNOHORSKY, W.O. (1976): The Mitridae of the world. Pt. 1. The subfamily Mitrinae. Indo-Pacific. Mollusca 3(17): 273-528.
DEY, A. (2016): Catalogue of marine molluscs (Polyplacophora and Gastropoda). Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. 1–687 pp. + 192 pl.
FEDOSOV ALEXANDER, NICOLAS PUILLANDRE, MANFRED HERRMANN, YURI KANTOR, MARCO OLIVERIO, POLINA DGEBUADZE, MARIA VITTORIA MODICA, PHILIPPE BOUCHET (2018): The collapse of Mitra: molecular systematics and morphology of the Mitridae (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, XX, 1–85. With 43 figures, https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx073.
RAO, K.V. & N.V. RAO (1991): Mollusca. pp. 273–362. In: Ghosh, A.K. & A. Kumar (eds.). State Fauna Series 2, Fauna of Lakshadweep. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. 413 pp.
RAVINESH, R. & A. BIJU KUMAR (2015): A checklist of the marine molluscs of Lakshadweep, India. Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries 3: 15–55.
SUBBA RAO, N. V. & A. DEY (2000): Catalogue of Marine Molluscs of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Rec. Zool. Surv. India, Occ. Paper No. 187, i–x, 1–323 pp.
SUBBA RAO, N.V. & A. DEY (1984): Contribution to the knowledge of Indian marine molluscs. I. Family Mitridae. Rec. Zool. Surv. India, Occ. Paper No. 61, 48 pp.
SUBBA RAO, N.V. (2003): Indian Seashells (Part–I): Polyplacopora and Gastropoda. Rec. Zool. Surv. India, Occ. Paper No. 19 (i–x): 1–416. 

Table 1. Family Mitridae from India (various publications as listed in reference section)
Sr. No	Species	
1	Mitra mitra (Linnaeus, 1758) 	
2	Mitra papalis (Linnaeus,1758)	
3	Mitra stictica (Link, 1807)	
4	Mitra turgida Reeve, 1845 ??	
5	Quasimitra bovei (Kiener, 1838)	
6	Quasimitra cardinalis (Gmelin, 1791)	
7	Domiporta circula (Kiener, 1838)	
8	Domiporta filaris (Linnaeus, 1771)	
9	Domiporta granatina (Lamarck, 1811)	
10	Domiporta praestantissima (Röding, 1798)	
11	Pseudonebularia chrysalis (Reeve, 1844)	
12	Pseudonebularia cucumerina (Lamarck, 1811)	
13	Pseudonebularia doliolum (Küster, 1839)	
14	Pseudonebularia maesta (Reeve, 1845)	
15	Pseudonebularia rueppellii (Reeve, 1844)	
16	Pseudonebularia tabanula (Lamarck, 1811)	
17	Strigatella ambigua (Swainson, 1829) 	
18	Strigatella aurantia (Gmelin, 1791)	
19	Strigatella coffea (Schubert & J. A. Wagner, 1829)	
20	Strigatella coronata (Lamarck, 1811)	
21	Strigatella colombelliformis (Kiener, 1838)	
22	Strigatella decurtata (Reeve, 1844)	
23	Strigatella imperialis (Röding, 1798) 	
24	Strigatella litterata (Lamarck, 1811) 	
25	Strigatella luctuosa (A. Adams, 1853)	
26	Strigatella paupercula (Linnaeus, 1758)	
27	Strigatella retusa (Lamarck, 1811)	
28	Strigatella scutulata (Gmelin, 1791) 	
29	Strigatella subruppeli (Finlay, 1927)	
30	Strigatella ticaonica (Reeve, 1844) 	
31	Imbricaria bacillum (Lamarck, 1811)	
32	Imbricaria flammea (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833)	
33	Imbricaria interlirata (Reeve, 1844)	
34	Imbricaria insculpta (A. Adams, 1853)	
35	Imbricaria rufilirata (A. Adams & Reeve, 1850)	
36	Imbricariopsis conularis (Lamarck, 1811)	
37	Imbricariopsis punctata (Swainson, 1821)	
38	Imbricariopsis vanikorensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833)	
39	Cancilla isabella (Swainson, 1831)	
40	Scabricola caerulea (Reeve, 1844) ??	
41	Scabricola coriacea (Reeve, 1845)	
42	Scabricola desetangsii (Kiener, 1838)	
43	Scabricola guttata (Swainson, 1824)??	
44	Swainsonia fusca (Swainson, 1824) 	
45	Swainsonia ocellata (Swainson, 1831)	
46	Neocancilla antoniae (H. Adams, 1870)	
47	Neocancilla clathrus (Gmelin, 1791)	
48	Neocancilla papilio (Link 1807)	
49	Subcancilla hindsii (Reeve, 1844)	
50	Pterygia crenulata (Gmelin, 1791)	
51	Pterygia dactylus (Linnaeus, 1767)	
52	Pterygia fenestrata (Lamarck, 1811)	
53	Pterygia nucea (Gmelin, 1791)	
54	Pterygia scabricula (Linnaeus, 1758)	
55	Pterygia sinensis (Reeve, 1844)	
56	Nebularia acuminata (Swainson, 1824)	
57	Nebularia contracta (Swainson, 1820)	
58	Nebularia incompta (Lightfoot, 1786)	
59	Nebularia pellisserpentis (Reeve, 1844)	
60	Gemmulimitra rubiginosa Reeve, 1844