Calliotropis motutaraensis
| Calliotropis motutaraensis Temporal range:
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|---|---|
| Holotype from Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Vetigastropoda |
| Family: | Calliotropidae |
| Genus: | Calliotropis |
| Species: | †C. motutaraensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Calliotropis motutaraensis A. W. B. Powell, 1935
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| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Calliotropis motutaraensis is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc, in the family Calliotropidae.[1] Fossils of the species date to early Miocene strata of the west coast of the Auckland Region.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
Shell fairly large, thin, conical and widely umbilicate. Whorls 81⁄2, including a minute globular smooth protoconch of 11⁄2 whorls. First post-nuclear whorl of closely-spaced crisp axials. Sub-sequent whorls with two widely separated spiral rows of closely-spaced prominent spinose nodules. The distance between the spiral rows is slightly more than double the distance between either one of these spirals and the adjacent suture. There are 19 nodules in one spiral series on the last whorl, and 17 on the third post-nuclear. The body-whorl has a third spinose spiral proceeding from the suture, and four more on the base, the last of which borders a wide and deep funnel-shaped umbilicus, the maximum width of which is about one-third that of the base. The basal spirals have finer and much more numerous nodules. The surface of the upper whorls is smooth, but on the body-whorl there are close but somewhat irregular retractive axial growth lines, those on the base being somewhat stronger and more regular. Aperture rhomboidal. Peristome thin, discontinuous. Inner lip as a thin callosity over the parietal wall. Upper part of columella slightly reflected over the umbilical cavity.[2]
The holotype of the species measures 17 mm (0.67 in) in length and has a diameter of 18 mm (0.71 in).[2]
Taxonomy
The species was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1935.[2] The holotype was collected at an unknown date prior to 1935 from southern Maukatia Bay near Muriwai, Auckland Region (then more commonly known as Motutara), and is held in the collections of Auckland War Memorial Museum.[3][4]
Distribution and habitat
This extinct marine species occurs in early Miocene strata of the Nihotupu Formation of New Zealand, on the west coast of the Waitākere Ranges of the Auckland Region, New Zealand.[3] The species likely lived in shallow waters.[2]
References
- ^ a b Calliotropis motutaraensis A. W. B. Powell, 1935 †. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 12 January 2026.
- ^ a b c d Powell, A. W. B. (1935). "Tertiary Mollusca from Motutara, West Coast, Auckland". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 1: 327–340. ISSN 0067-0464. JSTOR 42905961. Wikidata Q58676576. This article incorporates text from this source, which is under a CC BY 4.0 license.
- ^ a b Blom, Wilma M. (2025). "Annotated Catalogue of Fossil and Extant Molluscan Types in the Auckland War Memorial Museum". Bulletin of the Auckland Museum. 22. doi:10.32912/BULLETIN/22. ISSN 1176-3213. OCLC 1550165130. Wikidata Q135397912.
- ^ "Calliotropis motutaraensis". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 12 January 2026.