Revised descriptions of New Zealand Cenozoic Mollusca from Beu and Maxwell (1990)
| | Revised descriptions of New Zealand Cenozoic Mollusca from Beu and Maxwell (1990) |
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  (Pl. 36n): GS10199, J33/f7761, borehole at Humphrey's, Arahura Valley, Westland, at 41 m depth, Kapitean (GNS) |
Beu & Maxwell (1990): Chapter 14; p. 289; pl. 36 n.
Synonymy: Turritella (Zaria) tricincta var. B Hutton 1873b, p. 13 (not of Borson, 1821); Turritella patagonica "Sowerby" Hutton 1887, p. 219 (not of G. B. Sowerby I, 1846); Turritella kanieriensis Harris 1897, p. 241 (new name for T. tricincta Hutton, preoccupied); Stiracolpus kanieriensis
Classification: Turritellidae
Description: Large for genus (38-70 mm high), very tall and slender, but most specimens are short lengths of incomplete shells; sculpture greatly dominated by 3 spiral cords. Wide, straight sutural ramp slopes strongly out from suture to prominent spiral cord A, near upper quarter of whorl height; wide, strongly concave interspace (a third of whorl height) separates A from very prominent cord B; cord C is almost as prominent as B but very close below it; whorls then contract sharply to lower suture. A background of many fine spiral threads is obvious On most specimens. Outer lip with a wide, fairly shallow, V-shaped sinus, with a rounded apex; base flat. Protoconch not known.
Comparison: Zeacolpus kanieriensis is a large, typical species of Zeacolpus, possibly ancestral to both Z. vittatus (Pl. 47f) and Z. opoitius; it differs from them in its wider A-B interspace, narrower B-C interspace, and much more prominent major spiral cords. The origins of the group are obscure, however, as earlier species referred to Zeacolpus by Marwick (1971a) have much weaker spiral sculpture.
Distribution: Kapitean-Waipipian. Harris (1897) proposed the name Turritella kanieriensis as a replacement name for the preoccupied T. tricincta. The sole remaining original specimen from Hutton's material is from Shakespeare Cliff, Wanganui (Castlecliffian; a specimen of the form illustrated here as Z. delli murdochi, Pl. 47g) and, as use of the name kanieriensis for this form would cause confusion as well as leave Lake Kaniere shells without a name, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature chose as lectotype of Turritella kanieriensis Harris the specimen from Kaniere illustrated by Suter (1914, pl. 16, fig. 5); the type locality is therefore Kaniere, Westland, Kapitean or Opoitian (ICZN Opinion 810, 1967). The species is common in but largely limited to shallow-water (mid-outer shelf ?) sandy siltstone of Kapitean to Waipipian age in the Kaniere district, Westland; some specimens of Zeacolpus in a drill core from Makara, Wellington (Opoitian) are nearer to Z. kanieriensis than to Z. opoitius, although others are more like Z. opoitius.
Cite this publication as: "A.G. Beu and J.I. Raine (2009). Revised
descriptions of New Zealand Cenozoic Mollusca from Beu and Maxwell (1990). GNS
Science miscellaneous series no. 27."
© GNS Science, 2009
ISBN
978-0-478-19705-1
ISSN 1177-2441
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copy of New Zealand Geological Survey Paleontological Bulletin 58 in CD version
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