Comitas clarae

Comitas clarae is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pseudomelatomidae.[1]

Comitas clarae
Shell of Comitas clarae (holotype)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Pseudomelatomidae
Genus: Comitas
Species:
C. clarae
Binomial name
Comitas clarae
(Tenison Woods, 1880)
Synonyms
  • † Borsonia clarae, Cossmann, 1896
  • † Comitas (Carinacomitas) clarae (Tenison-Woods, 1880)
  • † Drillia clarae, Cossman, 1906
  • † Pleurotoma clarae, Tenison Woods, 1880
  • † Pleurotoma (Surcula) clarae, Tate and Dennant, 1895

Description

Dimensions: length 17.5 mm; breadth 6 mm length of the aperture 9 mm.

(Original description) The shell is elongate, fusiform, and thin. The posterior part of the spire is ribbed, anteriorly the ribs become obsolete. The shoulder of body whorl is obtusely angulate. The entire external surface of the whorls is covered with small, closely-set spiral lirae. The aperture is broad. The broad sinus is situated near the suture.[2]

This fossil must be mainly distinguished by the absence of any sculpture. The upper part of the spire is ribbed and in the lower whorls, these ribs become obsolete. The periphery of the last whorl is obtusely angular and the whole shell is covered spirally with close fine thread-like lirae. The aperture is broad and the sinus wide, deep, and conspicuous. A peculiarity in this shell is that the lines of growth scarcely show at all.[3]

Distribution

This extinct marine species was found in Middle Eocene strata in Victoria, Australia.

References
  1. A.W.B. Powell, The Australian Tertiary Mollusca of the Family Turridae; Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1944)
  2. Harris G.F.. (1897) Catalogue of Tertiary Molluscs in the British Museum of Natural HistoryPublic Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales vol. 4 (1880)
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