Pleuromeris finlayi
| Pleuromeris finlayi Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Holotype from Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Carditida |
| Family: | Carditidae |
| Genus: | Pleuromeris |
| Species: | †P. finlayi
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Pleuromeris finlayi A. W. B. Powell, 1938
| |
Pleuromeris finlayi is an extinct species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Carditidae.[1] Fossils of the species date to the Late Pliocene, Pleistocene and recent strata in New Zealand.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
Shell of moderate size, obliquely subcircular, beaks prominent, curved forwards and situated at about the anterior fourth in adults (in juveniles, which are less oblique, at the anterior third). Sculptured with prominently raised rounded topped radial ribs with interspaces equalling the ribs, except towards the ventral margin, where they are slightly wider. Radials faintly beaded by regular concentric growth lines. Hinge similar to that of zelandica, except that the median cardinal of the right valve is more broadly triangular and the anterior cardinal of the left valve is narrower.[2]
The holotype of the species has a height of 11.25 mm (0.443 in), length of 12.5 mm (0.49 in) and a single valve thickness of 3.5 mm (0.14 in).[2] It can be differentiated from P. zelandica due to having more numerous radials (17 vs. 14), more oblique, having a broader median cardinal for the right valve and a narrower median cardinal on the left, and due to the shell being thinner.[2]
Taxonomy
The species was first described by A.W.B. Powell in 1938.[2] The holotype was collected at a date prior to 1939 from Napier Port, Napier, New Zealand, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.[3][4]
Distribution
This extinct marine species occurs between Late Pliocene (Mangapanian stage) and recent strata of New Zealand, dating back to three million years before the present.[5] Fossils have been found near Napier,[3] and the South Taranaki Bight coast (Waitōtara, Nukumaru).[6]
References
- ^ Pleuromeris finlayi A. W. B. Powell, 1938 †. 3 March 2026. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species.
- ^ a b c d Powell, A. W. B. (1938). "A Pliocene Molluscan Faunule from Castle Point". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 2: 157–164. ISSN 0067-0464. JSTOR 42905977. Wikidata Q58676603. 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.
- ^ "Pleuromeris finlayi". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ Maxwell, P.A. (2009). "Cenozoic Mollusca". In Gordon, D.P. (ed.). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-877257-72-8.
- ^ Laws, C. R. (1940). "Palaeontological Study of Nukumaruan and Waitotaran Rocks near Wanganui" (PDF). Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 70: 34–56. ISSN 1176-6166. Wikidata Q89182583.