Saccella motutaraensis
| Saccella motutaraensis Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Holotype from Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Nuculanida |
| Family: | Nuculanidae |
| Genus: | Saccella |
| Species: | †S. motutaraensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Saccella motutaraensis (A. W. B. Powell, 1935)
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Saccella motutaraensis is an extinct species of bivalve, a marine mollusc in the family Nuculanidae.[1] 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, elongate-oval, narrowed posteriorly to a blunt upturned rostrum, beaks prominent, broadly rounded, situated a little in front of the middle. Anterior end broadly and regularly rounded. Posterior end concave along the dorsal margin, and gently upcurved basally to a blunt rounded rostrum which is tilted upwards slightly at the tip. Posterior area broad, concave, bounded by a slight ridge which bifurcates; the stronger arm running from the beak to the upper extremity of the rostrum and the weaker to a slight angulation between the lower extremity of the rostrum and the basal margin. Sculpture of strong, regular, well-spaced, concentric ridges, five per millimetre. The concentric ridges become obsolete over the posterior area proper, the lower ridge of the rostrum being crossed by the normal sculpture.[2]
The holotype of the species measures 6 mm (0.24 in) in height and 9.5 mm (0.37 in) in diameter.[2] The species can be identified due to its distinctive outline and sculpture.[2]
Taxonomy
The species was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1935 as Nuculana (Saccella) motutaraensis.[2] Its current accepted name is Saccella motutaraensis.[3] The holotype was collected at an unknown date prior to 1935 from fallen rocks at the southern end of 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 Powell Bay site deposits of the Nihotupu Formation in the western Waitākere Ranges are mid-bathyal 800–2,000 m (2,600–6,600 ft).[6]
References
- ^ a b Saccella motutaraensis (A. W. B. Powell, 1935) †. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 20 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.
- ^ 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. 234. ISBN 978-1-877257-72-8.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Saccella 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.