Comitas aldingensis


Comitas aldingensis is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pseudomelatomidae. Fossils of the species date to the late Eocene, and occurs in the strata of the southern coast of Australia, including the Eucla Basin, St Vincent Basin and the Otway Basin.

Description

In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
The protoconch has between 1.75-2.5 smooth whorls, and has a median carina which develops on either of the first two whorls, which merges into the teleoconch. The teleoconch is fusiform and fairly thin, the species' spire is turretted and approximately half the height of the shell. The species measures an average height of and a diameter of in diameter. Specimens found from Thomson Road have very weak carinar on the second whorl of the protoconch, and carinae development can vary depending on the location where fossils were found.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by A.W.B. Powell in 1944, under the name Comitas aldingensis, and has been referred to by its current name from 1969. The holotype was collected from Aldinga Beach, South Australia, at an unknown date prior to 1944, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Distribution

This extinct marine species dates between the late Eocene, and occurs in the strata of the Eucla Basin and St Vincent Basin of South Australia, including the Pallinup Formation and the Blanche Point Formation, and the Otway Basin of South Australia/Victoria in the Browns Creek Formation.