Syntomodrillia venusta

Syntomodrillia venusta 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. venusta
Binomial name
†Syntomodrillia venusta Powell, 1944
Synonyms [1]
† Syntomodrillia complexaA. W. B. Powell, 1944 † Syntomodrillia comptaA. W. B. Powell, 1944

Syntomodrillia venusta 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 Port Phillip Basin of Victoria, Australia.

Description

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

Shell glossy, whorls bluntly angled above middle. Sculpture consisting of distinct, narrow, rounded, flexuous axials, 21-24 per whorl, extending from upper suture over base to the neck, which bears six distinct spiral threads. Outer lip terminated by a heavy hollow varix. This labial varix restricts the depth of the posterior sinus, which is abnormally shallow for the genus. ^[2]

The holotype of the species measures 7.9 mm (0.31 in) in height and 3 mm (0.12 in) in diameter. ^[2]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by A.W.B. Powell in 1944. ^[2] The holotype was collected from Fossil Beach, Balcombe Bay, Victoria, Australia, at an unknown date prior to 1944, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum. ^{[3] [4]} In 2024, Thomas A. Darragh synonymised S. complexa and S. compta with S. venusta, as junior subjective synonyms. ^{[5] [1]}

Distribution

This extinct marine species dates to the middle Miocene, and occurs in the strata of the Port Phillip Basin of Victoria, Australia, found in the Gellibrand Formation, and the Altona Bay brown coal shafts. ^{[3] [5]}

Gallery

• 
  Reverse view of holotype
• 
  Type specimen (holotype of S. complexa)
• 
  Type specimen (holotype of S. compta)

References

1. Syntomodrillia venusta 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. 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.
4. "Syntomodrillia venusta". Collections Online. Auckland War Memorial Museum . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
5. 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.