Pupatonia atoma

Pupatonia atoma
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Cingulopsoidea
Family:	Eatoniellidae
Genus:	Pupatonia
Species:	P. atoma
Binomial name
Pupatonia atoma Ponder, 1965

Pupatonia atoma is a species of minute sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Eatoniellidae, the eatoniellids. ^[1] It is endemic to New Zealand, found in the waters of the southern South Island, Stewart Island, the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands and the Chatham Islands.

Description

In the original description, Ponder described the species as below:

Shell very minute, solid, pupoid, white, imperforate. Whorls 4, protoconch dome-shaped, not marked off, smooth; whorls weakly convex, false margined, with distinct growth lines and very fine, irregular, spiral scratches. Body whorl not swollen, periphery and base rounded. Aperture oval, peristome thickened, especially in anterior and posterior corners. Columella thick, vertical, inner lip a little oblique above. Posterior corner of aperture thick and weakly angled. Outer hip bent down and produced forward slightly near suture, nearly straight below, edge sharp, thickened internally. Differs from other species of the genus in its smaller size. Animal, operculum and radula unknown. ^[2]

Shells of the species have fine, irregular spiral scratches. ^[3] The shell of the holotype of the species has a height of 0.8 mm (0.031 in), and a width of 0.4 mm (0.016 in). ^[2]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Winston Ponder in 1965. ^[2] The holotype of the species is held by the Canterbury Museum. ^[4]

Distribution and habitat

P. atoma is endemic to New Zealand, found in the waters of the southern South Island, Stewart Island, the Snares Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Islands and the Chatham Islands. ^{[2] [5] [6]}

References

1. Pupatonia Ponder, 1965 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 30 October 2025.
2. Ponder, W. F. (1965). "The Family Eatoniellidae in New Zealand". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum . 6: 47–99. ISSN   0067-0464. JSTOR   42906115. Wikidata   Q58676802.
3. Powell, A.W.B. (1979). New Zealand Mollusca: Marine, Land and Freshwater Shells. Auckland: Collins. p. 94. ISBN   0002169061.
4. 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.
5. "NZ Mollusca - Pupatonia atoma". New Zealand Mollusca. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
6. "Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 8 August 2023.