Descriptions of Five New Species of Japanese Marine Gastropoda

This publication provides original descriptions of five new Japanese marine gastropod species, including a coralliophiline taxon originally described as Latiaxis tortuosus Azuma, 1961 (page 192), now placed in the genus Mipus as Mipus tortuosus (Azuma, 1961). The work is based on comparative conchological analysis and includes figures of type material. Azuma documents shell morphology in detail, including protoconch development, spiral and axial sculpture, keel formation, aperture structure, and canal morphology. The coralliophiline species described in this paper represents an early regional contribution to the taxonomy of Indo-Pacific coral-associated muricids and remains nomenclaturally important as the original source of the species name. The paper reflects mid-20th-century Japanese malacological research, when Latiaxis was widely used for taxa now distributed among several genera including Babelomurex and Mipus. Type material was retained in the author’s collection, which is typical for that period. This publication is relevant for historical taxonomy, nomenclatural tracing, and modern systematic revision of Coralliophilinae.