Taxonomic And Faunal Study Of Turridae(Gastropoda: Neogastropoda) Of The China Seas

Turridae, of the families of Phylum Mollusca, Class Gastropoda, Order Neogastropoda, Superfamily Conacea, has the greatest in number of species. There are more than 5,000 marine turrid species in the world, which are of very important status in mollusca systematic taxonology. The distribution of Turridae is cosmopolitan, which can be found living in every regions of the world, from the icy polar caps through temperate waters to the tropics; from intertidal niches to many thousands of fathoms deep in the oceans, but they are more often found in tropical, subtropical and temperate zone. The flesh of turrid is edible and the shell is cherished by shell collector due to its beautiful morphology. As a very important prey and predator, turrid plays a very important role in the food chains of macrobenthic fauna.The Turridae is remarkable for their diverse forms of shells. Because the tremendous range of shape, size and sculptural characteristics as well as shell color it has, they are very difficult for conchologist to distinguish them. A unifying characteristic present in all Turridae shells is a slit or notch at the posterior end of the aperture, but which also has a great variability in both depth and shape. Shell color ranges from grayish, or brown, to brilliant orange, red. The size of Turridae ranges from less than 2mm to more than 150mm in length.Up to now, the taxonomic classification of the Turridae is still confused, and has been in a constant state of revision. The subfamily classification has been controversial and there is no agreed classification (Wells, 1990). Mainly based on shell characters, Powell (1966) recognized nine subfamilies. McLean (1971) extended the classification into 15 subfamilies.As to generic classification, it is estimated that more than 200 genera have been created in an attempt to organize the turrids. So, the classification of Turridae was once called the"nightmare"of the conchologist.In 1994, J.D. Taylor et al. published a paper radically changing the divisions within the superfamily Conoidea. Subfamily classifications are shuffled and reorganized in this new system. Briefly, the family Turridae as it is traditionally structured has been divided into five turriform families; Drilliidae, Pseudomelotomidae, Strictispiridae, Turridae, and the Turridae subfamilies Clathurellinae H.and A.Adams, 1858 (absorbing Borsoniinae and Mitrolumninae McLean, 1971); Mangeliinae Fischer, 1884; and Daphnellinae Deshayes, 1863 are transferred to the family Conidae. A vote is still out on whether this new classification will be universally adopted. Further study is needed to clear up the questionable associations between the turriform groups transferred to the Conidae. Although subsequent scientific literature utilizes the new anatomically-based classification, not all authors have formally adopted it. To help avoid confusion when referencing currently available literature, the traditional turriform classification is being used here along with notation of the newer classification.Large amount of turrid specimens are deposited in the Marine Biological Museum of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (MBMCAS) in the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Unfortunately, the systematic study of Turridae is relatively poor in China (Tsi Chung-yen, 1983). Based on classical taxonomic method combined with distribution range and habits, the family Turridae from Chinese Seas was systematically studied. The results will enrich the biodiversity of China and clarify the status of it in the world fauna.Results of this study show that there are 203 species distributed in the China Seas, which belongs to 8 subfamilies, 54 genera, one new subgenus, 18 new species, and 63 new recorded species. One hundred sixty turrid species are distributed in tropical and subtropical seas, accounting to 78.8% of the total numbers of species. The composition of turrid species of Chinese Seas is a little difference from Japan and Philippine. Of the 203 species, 93 species are common to Japan and 63 species are common to the Philippine, with a similarity index of 41.99%and 41.86%, respectively. Most of the species are from Zhejiang, Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Hainan, Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands. Turridae of Chinese seas belongs to Indo-Malaya Fauna.The materials were collected by investigations carried out since the 1950s, including the"National Comprehensive Oceanography Survey"(NCOS, 1958-1960) carried out by the Chinese government,"China-Vietnam joint marine resource investigation of the Beibu Gulf (=Gulf of Tonkin)"(1959-1962),"The resource investigation of coasts and shallow waters of Shandong Province","The comprehensive resource investigation of the islands of China","China-Germany marine biota cooperative investigations of Hainan Island, China"(1990-1992), by intertidal zone collection or trawling.All the materials are deposited in MBMCAS.Abbreviations mentioned in the text are listed as follows:IOCAS—Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesMBMCAS-- Marine Biological Museum of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in theInstitute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesThe species in same genus are listed here alphabetically.