English Translation of Tadashige Habe (1970): Original Description of<i>Tarantellaxis kuroharai </i>n. gen. et sp. (now <i>Babelomurex kuroharai</i>)(GASTROPODA: <i>Muricidae</i>: <i>Coralliophilinae</i>)

Abstract:This study presents the first English translation of Tadashige Habe’s (1970) protologue of <i>Tarantellaxis kuroharai</i> n. gen. et sp., originally published in Venus (Japanese Journal of Malacology). The species, later placed in synonymy with <i>Babelomurex</i> Coen, 1922, is currently accepted as <i>Babelomurex kuroharai </i>(Habe, 1970) (<i>Muricidae</i>: <i>Coralliophilinae</i>), according to MolluscaBase (AphiaID: 550012). To ensure nomenclatural traceability, the original publication and associated names were registered in ZooBank (9 September 2025). Searches of MolluscaBase, GBIF, MNHN, and Japanese museum catalogues confirmed only two verifiable records: the holotype and a bathyal specimen from Vanuatu (MNHN IM-2008-253, 243-280 m), reported by Oliverio (2008). Secondary mentions include depictions in Lan’s The Classic Shells of the World (1993) and a review by Sage (1994). Morphological comparison highlights the species’ uniqueness among Pacific congeners and its resemblance to the Atlantic <i>B. juliae</i>, raising questions of convergent evolution versus shared ancestry. This integrated account supports future systematic and biogeographic research on deep-water coralliophiline gastropods.