Zeacuminia murdochi
Zeacuminia murdochi is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pseudotomidae. Fossils of the species date to late Pliocene strata of the Tangahoe Formation in New Zealand.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
The holotype of the species has an estimated height of, and a diameter of. It can be distinguished from other members of Zeacuminia due to its strong, widely spaced obsolescent axials.
Taxonomy
The species was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1931, who named the species after paleontologist Robert C. Murdoch. The holotype was collected in January 1931 from near the mouth of Waihi Stream near Hāwera, Taranaki, and is held in the collections of Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Distribution
This extinct marine species occurs in late Pliocene strata of the Tangahoe Formation, primarily associated with the Taranaki and Manawatū–Whanganui regions of New Zealand. Fossils of the species have been found near Hāwera and Waverley, South Taranaki, and on a section of the Manawatū River near Woodville, Tararua District.