Maoritomella balcombensis
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| Maoritomella balcombensis Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype from Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Family: | Borsoniidae |
| Genus: | Maoritomella |
| Species: | †M. balcombensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Maoritomella balcombensis A. W. B. Powell, 1944 | |
Maoritomella balcombensis is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc, in the family Borsoniidae.[1] Fossils of the species date to the middle Miocene, and are found in the strata of the Port Phillip Basin of Victoria, Australia.
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
Shell slender, sculptured with rounded spiral cords and dense, flexuous interstitial axial growth striae. Whorls lightly convex, very slightly angled by a peripheral carina, situated about or just below the middle. Above the carina there are two closely-spaced narrow cords submargining the suture, and two distant threads on the shoulder. Below the carina there are two cords equal in strength to the peripheral carina. About 16 primary spirals over body-whorl from the carina to the anterior end. Body-whorl rapidly contracted over base, leaving a long, slender, slightly twisted neck and anterior canal.[2]
The species has shells that measure 11.9 mm (0.47 in) in height and 4 mm (0.16 in) in diameter, with the holotype measuring 9.75 mm (0.384 in) in height and 3.5 mm (0.14 in) in diameter.[2]
