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Maoritomella

Maoritomella is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Borsoniidae.

Description

Shells of Maoritomella are tall-spired and have a truncated body-whorl, with a paucispiral protoconch, a globular of two smooth whorls, that is followed by a half whorl of brephic axials. The small shell seldom exceeds and has usually a fusiform-biconical shape. The axial riblets in the bluntly domed protoconch are absent or restricted to the terminal half-whorl. The sculpture consists of strong spiral lirae or cords with fine collabral threads crossing spiral lirae. It often contains a peripheral keel but never a conspicuous shoulder angle. The siphonal canal is not or feebly indented. There is an anal sinus on the shoulder slope. An operculum is present. The marginal teeth of the radula are rather short, straight and awl-like

Taxonomy

The genus was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1942, due to the difficulty of placing Pleurotoma albula (now Maoritomella albula) in an appropriate genus.

Distribution

This marine genus occurs off Indonesia, South Africa, Zanzibar,, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Australia (New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia).

Species

Species within the genus Maoritomella include:

Species brought into synonymy:
  • † Maoritomella annosa <small>A. W. B. Powell, 1942</small>: synonym of Drilliola annosa <small>(A. W. B. Powell, 1942)</small>
  • Maoritomella batjanensis <small>(Schepman, 1913)</small>: synonym of Otitoma batjanensis <small>(Schepman, 1913)</small>
  • † Maoritomella pukeuriensis <small>A. W. B. Powell, 1942</small>: synonym of Drilliola pukeuriensis <small>(A. W. B. Powell, 1942)</small>
  • † Maoritomella sola <small>A. W. B. Powell, 1942</small>: synonym of Drilliola sola <small>(A. W. B. Powell, 1942)</small>
  • Maoritomella thola <small>Laseron, 1954</small>: synonym of Tomopleura thola <small>(Laseron, 1954)</small>

References

Further reading

  • Laseron, C. 1954. Revision of the New South Wales Turridae (Mollusca). Australian Zoological Handbook. Sydney : Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales 1-56, pls 1-12.

External links