Galapagos Species Database

Taxon category: Accepted

Type locality: Galapagos; Finet (2001): Although the species was described, then cited from the Galapagos Islands in the literature, these records are likely spurious, as explained by Nesbitt & Pitt (1986): “Powys (1835) described Nassa nodifera from the Cuming collection, with the locality records “Galapagos Islands and beaches of Panama”. This locality information was copied by Reeve (1853: 23), Carpenter (1857: 361), Stearns (1893: 406), and Keen (1958: 410). Tryon (1882: 28) synonymized the species with N. hirtus (Kiener), and stated that the “localities of Panama and Galapagos are almost certainly incorrect”. This species is common in the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and has not been recorded subsequently from the Galapagos Islands”. This question was also discussed in Finet (1994) (species listed as “Nassarius nodiferus”). Synm.: Nassa (Alectrion) nodifera Powys, 1835, Nassa (Alectryon) nodifera Powys, 1835, Nassa (Telasco) stoliczkana G. Nevill & H. Nevill, 1874, Nassa (Uzita) nodifera Powys, 1835, Nassa nodifera Powys, 1835, Nassa stolida A. Adams, 1852, Nassarius (Niotha) nodifer (Powys, 1835), Nassarius (Niotha) nodiferus (Powys, 1835), Niotha nodifer (Powys, 1835) (Horton et al., 2021).

Origin: Native

Distribution: From Galapagos islands and Panama.

• Carpenter, P.P. (1857) Catalogue of the Collection of Mazatlan shells in the British Museum: collected by Frederick Reigen, described by Philip P. Carpenter. British Museum (Natural History). Dept. of Zoology, London, 552 pp.
• Carpenter, P.P. (1857) Report on the Present State of our Knowledge with Regard to the Mollusca of the West Coast of North America. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1856): 159-368.
• Finet, Y. (1994) The Marine Mollusks of the Galápagos Islands: a documented faunal list Muséum d'Histoire naturelle, Genève, 180 pp.
• Finet, Y. (2001) The marine mollusks of the Galapagos Islands: a documented faunal list. Editions du Muséum d' Histoire naturelle, Genève, 237 pp.
• Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
• Keen, A.M. (1958) Sea Shells of Tropical West America. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, 1st edition, 624 pp.
• Nesbitt, E.C. Pitt, W.D. (1986) Nassarius (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda) from the Galapagos Islands. The Veliger 28: 294-301.
• Powys, W.L. (1835) Characters of new species of shells collected by Mr. Cuming. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 3:94-96.
• Reeve, L. (1843-78) Conchologia Iconica: or, illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 1-20. London.
• Stearns, R.E.C. (1893) Scientific results of explorations by the U.S. Fish Commission steamer "Albatross". No. XXV - Report on the mollusk-fauna of the Galapagos Islands, with descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 16: 353-450.
• Tryon, G.W. (1882) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. 4. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.