Ancillista velesiana Iredale, 1936

Distribution: Southern Queensland and New South Wales (Central Indo-Pacific realm, Northeast Australian Shelf province to Temperate Australasia realm, East Central Australian Shelf province)

A large and well known strictly Australian species. It is the type species of Ancillista Iredale, 1936.

RV 2043. Australia, Queensland, E of Brisbane, Cape Moreton; dredged, depth 46.8 m. Scale bar is 1 cm.

The intra-specific variability of this species almost seems absent. It is highly recogniseable and should only be compared to Ancillaria cingulata Sowerby, 1830, which is congeneric and which was considered to be synonymous with, or to be a subspecies of the present taxon. The latter taxon remains somewhat smaller, is more slender, and lacks the prominent chestnut supra-sutural coloration starting at the posterior end of the aperture. Furthermore, it has a more western and northern distribution.

RV 2042a-b. Australia, Queensland, Sandy Cay. 1987.

A record, as Ancilla belesiana, from Chiapas, Mexico (Penagos García, 2013) is clearly erroneous.