Abstract
The shell of Buccinaria, with its synonyms Ootomella and Pionotoma, is characterized by a wide subsutural ramp forming a broad, concave depression, and a short, broad siphonal canal. The general appearance is strongly convergent with shells of certain buccinid genera such as Eosipho. Radula and protoconch morphology confirm a placement of the genus in the family Conidae, subfamily Raphitominae. Buccinaria is known back to Miocene deposits of Europe, prior to the closure of Tethys, and persists only in the Indo-West Pacific. Recent species live on bathyal soft bottoms, where they appear to favour poorly oxygenated reducing sediments. The six species (two new) recognized live at depths between 200 and 1200 m. Buccinaria loochooensis, originally described from Neogene deposits of the Ryukyus, is recorded for the first time in the Recent fauna. Pionotoma teramachii and P. pyrum, two Recent nominal species from Japan, are synonymized with Buccinaria jonkeri and B. martini, respectively, both described from the Neogene of Indonesia. Cominella koperbergi and C. retifera fall within the range of variation of, and are synonymized with, Buccinaria jonkeri.
