Paraguraleus incisus

Paraguraleus incisus 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. incisus
Binomial name
†Paraguraleus incisus (Powell, 1944)
Synonyms [1]
† Antiguraleus incisus(A.W.B. Powell, 1944) † Guraleus (Paraguraleus) incisusA.W.B. Powell, 1944 † Guraleus incisusA.W.B. Powell, 1944 † Propebela incisus(A.W.B. Powell, 1944) [2]

Paraguraleus incisus 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 St Vincent Basin of South Australia, Australia.

Description

Reverse view of holotype

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

Elongate-fusiform. Whorls lightly convex, very slightly shouldered at three-fourths whorl height. Sculptured with strong, rounded, flexuous axials, 13 per whorl, extending from upper suture over base to neck; crossed by incised spiral grooves, 16 from suture to suture on the penultimate and about 42 on the body-whorl. Outer lip thin edged and slightly incurved, strengthened behind by a rounded varix. Sinus rounded, distinct, occupying shoulder. ^[3]

The species has an axial sculpture of sinuous costae. ^[4] The holotype of the species measures 9.8 mm (0.39 in) in height and 3.5 mm (0.14 in) in diameter, while another specimen seen by Powell measured 15.9 mm (0.63 in) by 5.2 mm (0.20 in). ^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by A.W.B. Powell in 1944, as Guraleus (Paraguraleus) incisus. ^[3] The species was moved to the genus Antiguraleus in 1970 by Thomas A. Darragh due to its distinctive curved costae and outer lip supported by a thick external varix, ^{[5] [4]} This recombination is not supported by the World Register of Marine Species, which gives the accepted name of the species as Paraguraleus incisus. ^[1] The holotype was collected in 1919 by Walter Howchin and Joseph Verco from the Metropolitan Abattoirs Bore in Adelaide at a depth of between 122–152 m (400–499 ft), and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum. ^{[6] [7]}

Distribution

This extinct marine species occurs in middle Miocene (Bairnsdalian) strata of the St Vincent Basin of South Australia, including the lower Dry Creek Sands Formation. ^{[6] [8]}

References

1. Paraguraleus incisus (A. W. B. Powell, 1944) † . 11 November 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Thomson, Kirstie (2013). Evolutionary patterns and consequences of developmental mode in Cenozoic gastropods from southeastern Australia (Doctor of Philosophy thesis). University of Liverpool. pp. 186–187. doi:10.17638/00017953.
5. Darragh, Thomas A. (1970). "Catalogue of Australian Tertiary Mollusca (except chitons)" (PDF). Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria. 31: 174. doi:10.24199/J.MMV.1970.31.14. ISSN   0083-5986. Wikidata   Q56194898.
6. 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.
7. "Guraleus (Paraguraleus) incisus". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum . Retrieved 11 November 2025.
8. 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.