Tomopleura ludbrookae

Tomopleura ludbrookae Temporal range: Middle Miocene–Late Pliocene 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:	Borsoniidae
Genus:	Tomopleura
Species:	†T. ludbrookae
Binomial name
†Tomopleura ludbrookae Powell, 1944

Tomopleura ludbrookae 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 potentially the Late Pliocene, and have been found in strata of the St Vincent Basin of South Australia, and potentially from the Eucla Basin of Western and South Australia.

Description

Reverse view of holotype

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

Shell much more slender than either dilectoides or the Recent subtilinea ; body-whorl broadly arcuate, only slightly angulate, and with more numerous, closer-spaced spirals. Spire-whorls with the main carina just below the middle, two spirals submargin the suture, upper one a weak thread, lower one a strong cord, Two to three threads on the shoulder or sinus area, and two strong cords below the peripheral carina. About 23 spirals on body-whorl, 6 linear-spaced on anterior end. Interspaces on base 2 to 3 times width of cords. All interspaces delicately sculptured with closely-spaced flexuous axial threads. The base is more gradually tapered and the anterior end not so sharply pointed as in dilectotdes. ^[2]

The holotype of the species measures 14.9 mm (0.59 in) in height and 4.6 mm (0.18 in) in diameter. ^[2]

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 between 122–152 m (400–499 ft) by Walter Howchin and Joseph Verco in 1919, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum. ^{[3] [4]}

Distribution

This extinct marine species dates to the middle Miocene (Bairnsdalian) and potentially the Late Pliocene, and occurs in the strata of the St Vincent Basin of South Australia, including the lower Dry Creek Sands, and potentially from the Roe Calcarenite of the Eucla Basin. ^{[3] [5]}

References

1. Tomopleura 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. 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. "Tomopleura ludbrookae". 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.