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 in an appropriate genus.

Distribution

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

Species

Species within the genus Maoritomella include:

Maoritomella albula
† Maoritomella balcombensis A. W. B. Powell, 1944
Maoritomella clupeispina Kilburn, 1986
Maoritomella densecostulata Kilburn, 1986
† Maoritomella equispiralis A. W. B. Powell, 1944
Maoritomella eva
Maoritomella foliacea Laseron, 1954
Maoritomella granilirata Kilburn, 1986
Maoritomella ischna
Maoritomella leptopleura Kilburn, 1986
Maoritomella megalacme Kilburn, 1986
† Maoritomella moderata
Maoritomella multiplex
† Maoritomella nutans A. W. B. Powell, 1944
Maoritomella orientalis Dell, 1956
† Maoritomella pagodula Powell, 1942
Maoritomella pleonastica
† Maoritomella robusta Powell, 1942
† Maoritomella studiosorum
† Maoritomella subalbula
Maoritomella tarrhion Kilburn, 1986
† Maoritomella torquatella

; Species brought into synonymy:

† Maoritomella annosa A. W. B. Powell, 1942: synonym of Drilliola annosa
Maoritomella batjanensis : synonym of Otitoma batjanensis
† Maoritomella pukeuriensis A. W. B. Powell, 1942: synonym of Drilliola pukeuriensis
† Maoritomella sola A. W. B. Powell, 1942: synonym of Drilliola sola
Maoritomella thola Laseron, 1954: synonym of ''Tomopleura thola''