Syntomodrillia ludbrookae

Syntomodrillia ludbrookae 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:	Drilliidae
Genus:	Syntomodrillia
Species:	†S. ludbrookae
Binomial name
†Syntomodrillia ludbrookae Powell, 1944

Syntomodrillia ludbrookae is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Drilliidae. ^[1] Fossils of the species date to the middle Miocene, and have been found in the strata of the St Vincent Basin of South Australia.

Description

Reverse view of holotype

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

Whorls very lightly convex, peripheral angle scarcely apparent, defined only by a slight thickening of the axials at about the middle. Axials narrow-crested, oblique, flexuous over body-whorl, fading out on middle of base, 15-16 per whorl. Anterior end with 5 distinct spiral threads. ^[2]

The holotype of the species measures 7 mm (0.28 in) in height and 2.7 mm (0.11 in) in diameter. ^[2] It has a similar appearance to Tylotiella falcicosta found in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, but has a slightly more narrow shell. ^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by A.W.B. Powell in 1944. ^[2] The holotype was collected from the Metropolitan Abattoirs Bore in Adelaide, Australia, at a depth of 122–152 m (400–499 ft) in 1919 by Walter Howchin and Joseph Verco, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum. ^{[4] [5]}

Distribution

This extinct marine species dates to the middle Miocene, and occurs in the strata of the St Vincent Basin of South Australia, found in the Dry Creek Sands. ^{[4] [6]}

References

1. Syntomodrillia ludbrookae A. W. B. Powell, 1944 † . 13 November 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
2. 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.
3. Kilburn, R. N. (1 May 1988). "Turridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of southern Africa and Mozambique. Part 4. Subfamilies Drilliinae, Crassispirinae and Strictispirinae". Annals of the Natal Museum. 29 (1): 167–320. hdl:10520/AJA03040798_392. ISSN   0304-0798. Wikidata   Q94767201.
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. "Syntomodrillia ludbrookae". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
6. 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.