Relevant Synonyms - Misidentification Ergalatax martensi (Dall, 1923) [Engl, 1995] Cronia cf. konkanensis (Melvill, 1893) [Giunchi and Tisselli, 1995]  photo: S. Gofas / Coll. R. Houart

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell massive, solid, of 6-7 whorls with a peripheral keel. Sculpture of unequal spiral cords, alternating stronger and weaker, and of axial folds; the intersection of the axial folds with the spirals forms nodose knobs, of which those along the keel are most developed. Aperture relatively small, with thick outer lip, denticulate inside, and a shallow, broadly open siphonal canal. color : whitish to tan with the cords stained with brown on the nodes of peripheral keel and body whorl spirals. Aperture cream or yellowish inside. common size : up to 25 mm in the Red Sea; Mediterranean specimens 18 mm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS This species resembles native species of the genus Pollia, in general shape and in having dark stains on the knobs. Species of Pollia have more rounded whorls, not definitely keeled; a well-defined anal canal in the aperture, opposite to the siphonal canal, delimited by a denticle which is hardly expressed in Ergalatax. Also, Pollia usually has a whitish spiral zone on the middle of the body whorl. Other look-alike species of Ergalatax in the Indian Ocean are discussed by Houart (1996), to whom we refer. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Larvae are planktotrophic, ensuring long-distance dispersal. habitat : unknown.

1st Mediterranean record Southern Turkey, 1995 [1993]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Mediterranean: recorded from Mersin to Tasuçu, on the southern Turkish coast (Engl, 1995 as Ergalatax martensi and Giunchi and Tisselli, 1995 as Cronia cf. konkanensis); Cyprus (Buzzurro and Greppi, 1997). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Uncommon but regularly found. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Unknown. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Buzzurro G. and Greppi E., 1997. Notes on the mollusks of Cyprus, with special attention to the alloctone species. La Conchiglia, 29(283): 21-31, 61-62. Engl W., 1995. Specie prevalentemente lessepsiane attestate lungo le coste Turche. Bollettino Malacologico, 31(1-4): 43-50. Giunchi L. and Tisselli M., 1995. Cronia cf. konkanensis (Melvill, 1893), new Indo-Pacific host in the Mediterranean Sea. La Conchiglia, 27 (275): 8-9.   Houart R., 1996. On the identity of Morula martensi Dall, 1923 and description of a new species of Ergalatax from the Red Sea (Gastropoda, Muricidae, Ergalataxinae). The Nautilus, 110(1): 12-16. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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