Paraguraleus balcombensis

Paraguraleus balcombensis Temporal range: Middle Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Holotype from Auckland War Memorial Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Mangeliidae
Genus:	Paraguraleus
Species:	†P. balcombensis
Binomial name
†Paraguraleus balcombensis (Powell, 1944)
Synonyms [1]
† Antiguraleus balcombensis(A.W.B. Powell, 1944) [2] † Guraleus (Paraguraleus) balcombensisA.W.B. Powell, 1944 † Guraleus balcombensisA.W.B. Powell, 1944 † Propebela balcombensis(A.W.B. Powell, 1944) [3]

Paraguraleus balcombensis is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Mangeliidae. ^[1] Fossils of the species date to the Middle Miocene, and have been found in strata of the Port Phillip Basin of Victoria, Australia.

Description

Reverse view of holotype

In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:

Ovate-fusiform. Whorls strongly convex, weakly shouldered above the middle. Sculptured with rounded, closely spaced, flexuous axials, 16 per whorl, extending from upper suture over base to the neck; crossed by narrow spiral cords and fine interstitial lirations. Spire-whorls with about 12 lirations on the shoulder, 4 primary cords on the penultimate, and three lirations in each interspace, the middle one of the three slightly stronger. There are about 12 primary cords on the body whorl and many intermediates. Aperture as in finlayi . ^[4]

The holotype of the species measures 8.5 mm (0.33 in) in height and 3.4 mm (0.13 in) in diameter. ^[4]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by A.W.B. Powell in 1944, as the type species of Paraguraleus, then a subgenus of Guraleus . ^[4] Originally known as Guraleus (Paraguraleus) balcombensis, ^[4] the species was moved to the genus Antiguraleus in 1970 by Thomas A. Darragh, ^[2] This recombination is not supported by the World Register of Marine Species, which gives the accepted name of the species as Paraguraleus balcombensis. ^[1] The holotype was collected from Fossil Beach, Balcombe Bay / Jullul Bay, Victoria, Australia, at an unknown date earlier than 1944, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum. ^{[5] [6]}

Distribution

This extinct marine species occurs in middle Miocene strata of the Port Phillip Basin, including the Gellibrand Formation of Balcombe Bay, Victoria. ^{[5] [7]}

References

1. Paraguraleus balcombensis (A. W. B. Powell, 1944) † . 10 November 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
2. Darragh, Thomas A. (1970). "Catalogue of Australian Tertiary Mollusca (except chitons)" (PDF). Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria. 31: 157. doi:10.24199/J.MMV.1970.31.14. ISSN   0083-5986. Wikidata   Q56194898.
3. Beu, A. G. (March 2011). "Marine Mollusca of isotope stages of the last 2 million years in New Zealand. Part 4. Gastropoda (Ptenoglossa, Neogastropoda, Heterobranchia)". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 41 (1): 1–153. doi:10.1080/03036758.2011.548763. ISSN   0303-6758. Wikidata   Q54553193.
4. Powell, A. W. B. (1944). "The Australian Tertiary Mollusca of the Family Turridae". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum . 3: 3–68. ISSN   0067-0464. JSTOR   42905993. Wikidata   Q58676624.
5. Blom, Wilma M. (2025). "Annotated Catalogue of Fossil and Extant Molluscan Types in the Auckland War Memorial Museum". Bulletin of the Auckland Museum . 22. doi:10.32912/BULLETIN/22. ISSN   1176-3213. Wikidata   Q135397912.
6. "Guraleus (Paraguraleus) balcombensis". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum . Retrieved 10 November 2025.
7. Darragh, Thomas A. (August 2024). "A checklist of Australian marine Cenozoic Mollusca". Memoirs of Museum Victoria . 83: 37–206. doi:10.24199/J.MMV.2024.83.02. ISSN   1447-2546. Wikidata   Q136396722.