Monilea Swainson 1840

Overview & Synopsis

Genus Monilea Swainson, 1840Monilea Swainson, 1840: 220, 350.Type speciesTrochus calliferus Lamarck, 1822 (monotypy), Recent, Indo-West Pacific.RemarksThe taxonomy of the genus Monilea is complex and in need of revision – much remains unresolved. If illustrated at all, the original figures of the species described in the 19 th century were frequently poor. As a consequence, use of these names in more recent literature has lacked authority and many have been used inconsistenly. Rarely was there evidence that the type material had been consulted and more recent authors have simply followed earlier authors in applying names. This situation is further exacerbated by the fact that recent illustrations often present the shell in apertural view only, which does not show critical features of umbilical morphology. Some of the species currently referred to Monilea (MolluscaBase 2024) belong instead to Talopena, which I consider to be a distinct genus. This issue is discussed further under the Remarks for Talopena (below) where I provide illustrations of the holotypes of the type species of both genera (Fig. 34) and detail the characters which set them apart. None of the New Caledonian material examined is referable to Monilea.