''Paracomitas'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
sea snails, marine
gastropod mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Pseudomelatomidae
Pseudomelatomidae is a family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropods included in the superfamily Conoidea (previously Conacea) and part of the Neogastropoda ( Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).
In 1995 Kantor elevated the subfamily Pseudomelatominae ...
.
Description
The genus ''Paracomitas'' has a carinate
protoconch
A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also calle ...
which lies in the same cone as the
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
, thus differing from typical ''
Comitas
''Comitas'' is a genus of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Pseudomelatomidae.WoRMS (2010). Comitas Finlay, 1926. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through ...
'' in which the protoconch is noncarinate, bulbous and tilted. Although the type of Comitas, ''C. oamarutica'' (Suter), is Drillia-like in the ornamentation of its spire, some species referred to ''Comitas'' by Powell on the basis of the protoconch, such as ''
Comitas allani'' Powell, are similar in adult sculpture to ''Paracomitas''. The protoconch of the species here referred to ''Paracomitas'' is small and appears to be slightly tilted, and the last quarter-turn or less is slightly angulate, but not definitely carinate.
Species
Species within the genus ''Paracomitas'' include:
* ''
Paracomitas augusta''
(Murdock & Suter, 1906)
* † ''
Paracomitas beui''
Maxwell, 1988
* † ''
Paracomitas flemingi''
(Beu, 1970)
* † ''
Paracomitas gemmea''
(R. Murdoch, 1900)
* ''
Paracomitas haumuria''
Beu, 1979
* † ''
Paracomitas protransenna
''Paracomitas protransenna'' is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies.MolluscaBase (2018). Paracomitas protransenna (P. Marshall & R. Murdoch, 1923) †. Accessed th ...
''
(P. Marshall & R. Murdoch, 1923)
* † ''
Paracomitas rodgersi''
MacNeil, 1960
* ''
Paracomitas undosa''
(Schepman, 1913)
;Alternate representations
* ''Paracomitas (Macrosinus)''
Beu, 1970 represented as ''Paracomitas''
Powell, 1942
* ''Paracomitas (Macrosinus) haumuria''
Beu, 1979 represented as ''Paracomitas haumuria''
Beu, 1979
;Species brought into synonymy:
* ''Paracomitas gypsata''
(Watson, 1881):
synonym of ''
Gymnobela gypsata
''Gymnobela gypsata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae.
Description
(Original description) Shell.— Strong, fusiform, biconical, scalar, shortly, sharply and obliquely ribbed, keeled, constric ...
''
(Watson, 1881)
References
External links
*
Bouchet, P.; Kantor, Y. I.; Sysoev, A.; Puillandre, N. (2011). ''A new operational classification of the Conoidea (Gastropoda).'' Journal of Molluscan Studies. 77(3): 273-308
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3175239
Pseudomelatomidae