Teleochilus balcombensis

Teleochilus 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:	Raphitomidae
Genus:	Teleochilus
Species:	†T. balcombensis
Binomial name
†Teleochilus balcombensis Powell, 1944

Teleochilus balcombensis is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Raphitomidae. ^[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:

Shell of moderate size, slender, subcylindrical, but with the spire-whorls noticeably convex. Aperture about half height of shell. Post-nuclear sculpture of 8-9 flat-topped, moderately strong cords, with inter-spaces averaging half their width. Two to four cords on the median area of the body-whorl are bifurcated by a linear groove. There are 26 primary cords on the body-whorl. Shoulder sulcus distinct, situated below the first subsutural cord. Axial sculpture of weak, wide-spaced folds on first 2-3 whorls. ^[2]

The holotype of the species measures 18 mm (0.71 in) in height and 6 mm (0.24 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 of Balcombe Bay, Mornington, Victoria at an unknown date prior to 1944, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum. ^{[3] [4]}

Distribution

This extinct marine species dates to the middle Miocene (Balcombian), and occurs in the strata of the Port Phillip Basin of Victoria, Australia, including the Gellibrand Formation. ^{[3] [5]}

References

1. Teleochilus balcombensis 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. "Teleochilus balcombensis". 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.