Siphonaria stellata

Siphonaria stellata (Helbling, 1779) Patella stellata Helbling 1779: 109, pl. 1, fig. 11 (without type locality).— Satyamurti 1952: 252, pl. 34, fig. 2a, b. Siphonaria stellata — Martens 1868: 235; Nagabhushanam & Krishnan 1993: 480; White & Dayrat 2012: 68. Taxonomic remarks. The original description and original figure provide the only indication for the identity of S. stellata (Helbling, 1779). No type specimen(s) are known to exist. Martens (1868: 235) transferred Patella stellata Helbling, 1779 to Siphonaria, indicating that S. exigua Sowerby was the ‘best’ name reversing the priority. This transfer to Siphonaria rendered S. stellata Blainville, 1827 as a junior secondary homonym (Art. 57.3; White & Dayrat, 2010: 68). Examination of Helbling’s figure (1779) reveals a shell that resembles specimens from Hawaii (e.g., S. waikoloaensis sp. nov., Figs 72D–F; S. mauiensis sp. nov., Figs 56G–I) or Mauritius (e.g., S. incerta; Figs 35H–L) and is unlike the shell of S. exigua (Fig. 3J). The identity of S. stellata is currently unknown and there is no prospect of clarifying its identity based on the original description alone. The use of the name S. stellata (Helbling) for material from the Bay of Bengal in Nagabhushanam & Krishnan (1993: 480) is therefore questionable. We consider this taxon as a nomen dubium.