A new species of Lataxiena Jousseaume, 1883 (Gastropoda: Muricidae) from the East and South China Seas

A new muricid gastropod species,L ataxiena lutescena sp. nov.,is described and illustrated. The new species was recognized during reidentification of the Muricidae collection in the Marine Biological Museum,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Qingdao. The specimens of the new species were collected from the East and South China Seas off Fujian,Guangdong,and Hainan Provinces. Lataxiena lutescena sp. nov. is similar to Lataxiena blosvillei(Deshayes,1832) in general shape,but can be distinguished from the latter by the shell sculpture and radular characteristics. Lataxiena lutescena sp. nov. also resembles Lataxiena bombayana(Melvill,1893),but differs from that species in the shell shape and anal notches and in lacking short spines on the shell.