Teleochilus denseliratus

Teleochilus denseliratus 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. denseliratus
Binomial name
†Teleochilus denseliratus Powell, 1944

Teleochilus denseliratus 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 Otway Basin of South Australia and Victoria.

Description

Reverse view of holotype

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

Shell very large for the genus, slender, subcylindrical. Aperture more than half height of shell. Post-nuclear sculpture of six flat-topped, linear-spaced cords on first whorl, doubled on next by bifurcation of all cords, and increased to 14 on penultimate; body-whorl with about 58 weak, irregularly developed, narrow cords. There is a slight shoulder sulcus below the second cord from the suture, being marked by a wider interspace, equal to the width of two cords. Axial sculpture obsolete. ^[2]

The holotype of the species measures 29.3 mm (1.15 in) in height and 8.9 mm (0.35 in) in diameter. ^[2]

Taxonomy

The species was first described by A.W.B. Powell in 1944. ^[2] Prior to being described as a distinct species, fossils of the species had been identified as members of Teleochilus gracillimus . ^[2] The holotype was collected from Clifton Bank near Hamilton, 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 Otway Basin of South Australia and Victoria, Australia, including the Muddy Creek Formation. ^{[3] [5]}

References

1. Teleochilus denseliratus 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 denseliratus". 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.