Pteromyrtea motutaraensis
| Pteromyrtea motutaraensis Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Holotype from Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Lucinida |
| Family: | Lucinidae |
| Genus: | †Pteromyrtea |
| Species: | †P. motutaraensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Pteromyrtea motutaraensis A. W. B. Powell, 1935
| |
Pteromyrtea motutaraensis is an extinct species of bivalve, a marine mollusc in the family Lucinidae.[1][2] Fossils of the species date to early Miocene strata of the west coast of the Auckland Region, New Zealand.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
Shell of moderate size, ovate, longer than high, somewhat inflated, rather thin. Beaks central. Lunule narrowly lanceolate. Anterior wing long and clearly marked off by a groove. Sculpture consisting of extremely fine regular concentric threads, about five per millimetre. Valve margins smooth. Hinge typical, as shown by a paratype.[3]
The holotype of the species measures 17 mm (0.67 in) in height and 21 mm (0.83 in) in length.[3] The species can be identified sue to its more oval outline than other members of Pteromyrtea.[3]
Taxonomy
The species was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1935.[3] The holotype was collected at an unknown date prior to 1935 from fallen rocks at southern Maukatia Bay, south of Muriwai, Auckland Region (then more commonly known as Motutara), and is held in the collections of Auckland War Memorial Museum.[4][5]
Distribution
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.[4] The deposits of the Nihotupu Formation in the western Waitākere Ranges where fossils of the species have been founs are mid-bathyal 800–2,000 m (2,600–6,600 ft).[6]
Gallery
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View of second valve of holotype
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Side view of holotype
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Side view of holotype
References
- ^ Pteromyrtea motutaraensis A. W. B. Powell, 1935 †. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 20 January 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Pteromyrtea motutaraensis". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ Eagle, Michael K. (December 1999). "A new Early Miocene Pseudarchaster (Asteroidea: Echinodermata) from New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. 42 (4): 551–556. doi:10.1080/00288306.1999.9514861. ISSN 0028-8306. Wikidata Q104119200.