Alcithoe wilsonae
Alcithoe wilsonae is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Volutidae, the volutes. A highly morphologically varied species, it endemic to New Zealand, found on the Chatham Rise, off the coast of the eastern South Island, and on a section of the Campbell Plateau between the South Island and the Auckland Islands.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:The holotype of the species measures in height and in diameter. The species has four strong pillar plaits. It is a highly morphologically variable species.
Taxonomy
A. wilsonae was first described by A.W.B. Powell in 1933, using the name Pachymelon wilsonae. The holotype was collected from Owenga Beach in the Chatham Islands by Miss B. M. Wilson in 1933. In 1978, Richard Dell synonymised Pachymelon with the genus Alcithoe, recombining the species as Alcithoe wilsonae. In the same paper, Dell synonymised Pachymelon grahami and Pachymelon smithi with Alcithoe wilsonae. In 2011, A. knoxi was synonymised with A. wilsonae.The species likely diverged from other members of Alcithoe between 4.6 and 13.1 million years ago.