A NEW SHIPWORM FROM VENEZUELA 



By Paul Baktsch 



Curator, Division of Moi'iink.'i and Cenozoiv Invertebrates 



A sending of shipworms collected in Maiacaibo Bay, A'enezuela, 

 includes an imdescribed species belonging to the subgenus Neoteredo. 

 This now gives us three species in that subgenus, namely, Teredo 

 {Neoteredo) reynei Bartsch from British Guiana and Surinam; 

 Teredo {Neoteredo) miraflora Bartsch from the Canal Z(me, Pan- 

 ama, and the present species, Teredo {Neoteredo) healdi from Vene- 

 zuela. 



When I published my monograph of the American shipworms, 

 Bulletin No. 122, United States National Museum, I did not have the 

 pallets of Teredo {Neoteredo) miraflora. These have since come to 

 hand, I am, therefore, now able to give comparative data of both 

 shell and pallet characters. 



The dental ridges on the anterior part are finer and more closely 

 spaced in Teredo {Neotei'edo) rey^iei and Teredo {Neoteredo) rrdror 

 ■flora than in the new species. In the types of the three species the 

 following number of dental ridges remain: Teredo {Neoteredo) 

 reynei^ 125; Teredo {Neoteredo) Tuiraflora, 97; Teredo {Neoteredo) 

 healdi^ 66. The anterior median area bearing the dental ridges is 

 almost twice as wide in Teredo {Neoteredo) reynei as it is in Teredo 

 {Neoteredo) healdi^ while in Teredo {Neoteredo) inirafiora it is 

 intermediate between the two. The number of dental ridges in the 

 types of the three species across the anterior median area parallel 

 with the ventral border of the anterior area are : Teredo {Neoteredo) 

 reynei 83; Teredo {Neoteredo) miraflora, 46; Teredo {Neoteredo) 

 healdi, 38. The pallets of the three species also offer diagnostic 

 characters. In Teredo {Neoteredo) reynei the blade is quite sm^U ; 

 it measures : Length, 7.2 mm. ; diameter, 2.5 mm. In Teredo {Neoter- 

 edo) miraflora it measures: Length, 7.1 mm.; diameter, 3.1 mm. In 

 Teredo {Neoteredo) healdi it has a length of 7.5 mm. and a 

 diameter of 3.3 mm. The outside of the blade is also less deeply cut 

 in Teredo {Neoteredo) healdi than in Teredo {Neoteredo) inirafiora, 

 which it most resembles. The sulcus below the cup is also less de- 

 fined in the present species. 



No. 2874.— Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. 79, Art, 8. 



35867—31 1 



