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ENTALINIDAE |
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Rhomboxiphus colmani (Palmer, 1974) Description: Shape strongly curved, flattened laterally, diamond-shaped in cross section, with sharp keel at margin on each side. Weight moderate. Aperture diameter 2.9 mm maximum dimension. Apex cut away ventrally. Sculpture sides smooth. Transverse sculpture dense growth lines. Aperture diamond-shaped. Colour white. Size: Up to 35 mm in length (see Remarks below). Distribution: Global distribution unknown. Assumed to be endemic to Australia with a distribution from central NSW, around southern Australia, to southern WA. Habitat: Dredged in sandy mud from 241 to 3658 m. (Lamprell & Healy, 1998). Uncommon. Comparison: See Rhomboxiphus tricarinatum. Synonymy: Colman (1958) assigned the new name Dentalium (Bathoxiphus) applanatum to this species, but that name was preoccupied, so it was renamed Bathoxiphus colmani (Palmer, 1974). Remarks: Lamprell & Healy (1998) gave the size of this species as up to 23.5 mm, but there are several lots in the Australian Museum collection which were cited by Lamprell & Healy which contain larger specimens (up to 35 mm in length, e.g. C.173233). This disparity in recorded size is a mystery. Fig. 1: Broken Bay, NSW, in 805 m (C.311594). |
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