Belongs within: Volutoidea.
The Lyriini are a group of volutes bearing a uniserial radula with tricuspid teeth (Weaver & duPont 1970).
Characters (Weaver & duPont 1970): Shell subglobose to elongate-fusiform. Protoconch small to large, smooth, with or without short calcarella. Axial ribs appearing on some or all teleoconch whorls. Suture may or may not be channeled. Columella with one or more strong anterior plaits followed posteriorly by weaker plaits or lirae. Siphonal notch and fasciole present. Horny operculum present. Periostracum present or absent. Radular ribbon uniserial with tricuspid teeth.
The lyriin volutes
Published 18 June 2024
Among the various gastropods that have long caught the attention of shell collectors and malacologists, we would have to include the volutes. These carnivorous gastropods have been particularly prized for the large size, sturdiness, and striking coloration of many species. Looking among the subgroups of the volutes, we find the members of the tribe Lyriini.
The Lyriini are widespread in the Indo-Pacific region, with a small number of relatively rare species found in the western Atlantic (Weaver & du Pont 1970). As with other volutes, they are most diverse in tropical and subtropical regions (though at least one species, Lyria mitraeformis, inhabits waters along the southern coast of Australia that I can assure you are not in the least bit tropical). Lyriins are typically characterised by biconic shells with distinct axial sculpture (Merle et al. 2014). Coloration typically exhibits a spiral pattern. Lyriins are medium to large in size; many species have shells an inch or more in length, but that of Lyria lyraeformis from the coast of Kenya may reach up to 145 mm. The radula, where known, is typically unilinear with tricuspid teeth though vestigial lateral teeth are rarely present (Weaver & du Pont 1970).
Lyriini inhabit sandy or muddy substrates in shallow to moderately deep waters, up to about 100 m. I haven’t come across any records of the feeding habits of lyriins specifically, but other volutes are typically predators of other molluscs that they engulf with their large foot (Morton 1986). One wonders if the relatively narrow radula of Lyriini reflects some quirk of their diet. Do lyriins target prey whose shell has a notably narrow opening, into which their slender tongue can easily penetrate?
Systematics of Lyriini
<==Lyriini [Lyriinae]
|--Lyreneta Iredale 1937WP70
| `--*L. laseroni Iredale 1937W94 (see below for synonymy)
|--Lyriopsis Merle, Pacaud et al. 2014MP14
| |--*L. cossmanni (Vredenburg 1923) [=Lyria cossmanni, Lyria feddeni Vredenburg 1923]MP14
| `--L. samanaensis (Cox 1930) [=Lyria samanaensis]MP14
|--Enaeta Adams & Adams 1853WP70
| |--*E. barnesii (Gray 1825) (see below for synonymy)WP70
| |--E. archeri (Angas 1865) [=Voluta (Lyria) archeri, Lyria (Enaeta) archeri]WP70
| |--E. cumingii (Broderip 1832) (see below for synonymy)WP70
| |--E. cylleniformis (Sowerby 1844) [=Voluta cylleniformis, Lyria (Enaeta) cylleniformis]WP70
| |--E. guildingii (Sowerby 1844)LB89 [=Voluta guildingiiWP70, Lyria (Enaeta) guildingiiWP70]
| `--E. reevei Dall 1907 [=Lyria (Enaeta) reevei, Voluta guttata Reeve 1849 non Dillwyn 1817, L. (Enaeta) guttata]WP70
|--Mitreola Swainson 1833 non L. 1758 (ICBN)MP14
| |--*M. monodonta (Lamarck 1803) [=Mitra monodonta]MP14
| |--M. brohii Merle, Pacaud et al. 2014MP14
| |--M. labratula (Lamarck 1803)MP14
| |--M. maxwelli Le Renard 1994MP14
| |--M. mutica (Lamarck 1803)MP14
| |--M. raricosta (Lamarck 1803)MP14
| |--M. salaputium Darragh 1988MP14
| `--M. subplicata (Deshayes 1835)MP14
`--Lyria Gray 1847DK08 [incl. Otocheilus Conrad 1848WP70]
| i. s.: L. branderi (Deshayes 1835)DK08
| L. lamellatoplicata Darragh & Kendrick 2008DK08
| L. leonardi Emerson 1985BC01
| L. leslieboschae Emerson & Sage 1986BC01
| ‘Fulgoraria’ mississippiensis Conrad 1848 [=*Otocheilus mississippiensis]WP70
| L. punjabensis Eames 1952HD19
| L. russjenseni Emerson 1985BC01
| L. sihesurensis (d’Archiac & Haime 1853) [=Voluta sihesurensis]MP14
| L. zelandicaF26
|--L. (Lyria)MP14
| |--*L. (L.) nucleus (Lamarck 1811)BR17 (see below for synonymy)
| |--L. (L.) beauii (Fischer & Bernardi 1857) [=Voluta beaui]WP70
| |--L. (L.) cassidula (Reeve 1849) [=Voluta cassidula]WP70
| |--L. (L.) cloveriana Weaver 1963WP70
| |--L. (L.) delessertiana (Petit de la Saussaye 1842) [=Voluta delessertiana]WP70
| |--L. (L.) deliciosa (Montrouzier 1859)WP70 [=Voluta deliciosaH09]
| | |--L. d. deliciosaW94
| | `--L. d. howensis Iredale 1937W94
| |--L. (L.) harpula (Lamarck 1803)MP14
| |--L. (L.) lyraeformis (Swainson 1821) (see below for synonymy)WP70
| |--L. (L.) mitraeformis (Lamarck 1811)WP70 (see below for synonymy)
| |--L. (L.) pallidula Habe 1962WP70
| |--L. (L.) planicostata (Sowerby 1903) [=Voluta (L.) planicostata]WP70
| |--L. (L.) queketti (Smith 1901) [=Voluta (L.) queketti]WP70
| |--L. (L.) subturgidula (d’Orbigny 1850) [incl. Voluta turgidula Deshayes 1835 non Brocchi 1814]MP14
| `--L. (L.) vegai Clench & Turner 1967WP70
|--L. (Harpeola Dall 1907) [incl. Harpella Gray in Adams & Adams 1858 non Schrank 1802]WP70
| |--L. (*H.) anna (Lesson 1835) (see below for synonymy)WP70
| `--L. (H.) kurodai (Kawamura 1964) [=Harpeola kurodai]WP70
`--L. (Pseudolyria Martin 1931)MP14
|--‘*Pseudolyria’ ventricola Martin 1931MP14
`--L. (P.) coroni (Morlet 1888)MP14
*Enaeta barnesii (Gray 1825) [=Voluta barnsii, Lyria (Enaeta) barnesii, V. barnesii; incl. V. harpa Barnes 1824 non Mawe 1823, Lyria (Enaeta) harpa]WP70
Enaeta cumingii (Broderip 1832) [=Voluta cumingii, Lyria (Enaeta) cumingii; incl. Enaeta pedersenii Verrill 1870, L. (E.) pedersenii]WP70
*Lyreneta laseroni Iredale 1937W94 [=Lyria (Lyreneta) laseroniWP70; incl. Voluta (Callipara) brazieri Cox 1873 non Angas in Brazier 1870WP70]
Lyria (*Harpeola) anna (Lesson 1835) [=Voluta anna; incl. V. costata Swainson 1824 non Gmelin 1791, Lyria (*Harpella) costata, V. harpa Swainson 1835 nec Mawe 1823 nec Barnes 1825, Harpula harpa, V. lyrata Sowerby 1825 non Brocchi 1814]WP70
Lyria (Lyria) lyraeformis (Swainson 1821) [=Mitra lyraeformis, Harpula lyriformis, Voluta lyraeformis, V. lyriformis]WP70
Lyria (Lyria) mitraeformis (Lamarck 1811)WP70 [=Voluta mitraeformisWP70, Harpula mitraeformisWP70; incl. V. (Lyria) grangeri Sowerby 1900S00, WG71, L. kimberi Cotton 1932W94, V. multicostata Broderip 1827WP70, L. multicostataWP70]
*Lyria (Lyria) nucleus (Lamarck 1811)BR17 [=Voluta nucleus H09, Harpula nucleusWP70; incl. V. harpa Mawe 1823C64, W94, Lyria insignita Iredale 1940W94, Voluta pattersonia Perry 1811MP14, V. perdicina Megerle 1829WP70, W94, Lyria opposita Iredale 1937W94, L. peroniana Iredale 1940WG71]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[BR17] Bouchet, P., J.-P. Rocroi, B. Hausdorf, A. Kaim, Y. Kano, A. Nützel, P. Parkhaev, M. Schrödl & E. E. Strong. 2017. Revised classification, nomenclator and typification of gastropod and monoplacophoran families. Malacologia 61 (1–2): 1–526.
[BC01] Boyko, C. B., & J. R. Cordeiro. 2001. Catalog of Recent type specimens in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History. V. Mollusca, part 2 (class Gastropoda [exclusive of Opisthobranchia and Pulmonata], with supplements to Gastropoda [Opisthobranchia], and Bivalvia). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 262: 1–170.
[C64] Carpenter, P. P. 1864. Supplementary 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 33: 517–686.
[DK08] Darragh, T. A., & G. W. Kendrick. 2008. Silicified Eocene molluscs from the Lower Murchison district, Southern Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 24 (3): 217–246.
[F26] Finlay, H. J. 1926. A further commentary on New Zealand molluscan systematics. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 320–485.
[HD19] Halder, K., & S. Das. 2019. New subfamily Indovolutinae and other volutids (Volutidae, Gastropoda) from the Eocene of Kutch, western India and their paleobiogeographic implications. Journal of Paleontology 93 (5): 899–915.
[H09] Hedley, C. 1909. The Marine Fauna of Queensland: Address by the President of Section D. Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science: Brisbane.
[LB89] Leal, J. H., & P. Bouchet. 1989. New deep-water Volutidae from off southeastern Brazil (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Nautilus 103 (1): 1–12.
[MP14] Merle, D., J.-M. Pacaud, G. Métais, A. Bartolini, R. A. Lashari, I. A. Brohi, S. H. Solangi, L. Marivaux & J.-L. Welcomme. 2014. Volutidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of the Lakhra Formation (earliest Eocene, Sindh, Pakistan): systematics, biostratigraphy and paleobiogeography. Zootaxa 3826 (1): 101–138.
Morton, B. 1986. The diet and prey capture mechanism of Melo melo (Prosobranchia: Volutidae). Journal of Molluscan Studies 52: 156–160.
[S00] Sowerby, G. B. 1900. New species of Mollusca of the genera Voluta, Conus, Siphonalia, and Euthria. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 5: 439–441, pl. 11.
[WP70] Weaver, C. S., & J. E. duPont. 1970. Living Volutes: A monograph of the Recent Volutidae of the World. Delaware Museum of Natural History: Greenville (Delaware).
[W94] Wilson, B. 1994. Australian Marine Shells vol. 2. Prosobranch Gastropods. Part Two (Neogastropods). Odyssey Publishing: Kallaroo (Western Australia).
[WG71] Wilson, B. R., & K. Gillett. 1971. Australian Shells: illustrating and describing 600 species of marine gastropods found in Australian waters. A. H. & A. W. Reed: Sydney.