Cochlespira venusta is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc, in the family Cochlespiridae. Fossils of the species date to early to middle Miocene strata of the Port Phillip Basin of Victoria, Australia.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
The holotype of the species measures in height and has a diameter of . It can be distinguished from other members of the genus Cochlespira by its strongly gemmate spiral chords, as well as its gemmate margining cord, and by having finer spiral cords, a weaker keel and a more flattened protoconch relative to C. semiplana. The species has a narrowly fusiform shell, keeled spire whorls which are coronated medially by strongly upcurving tubercles.
Taxonomy
The species was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1944, using the name Coronasyrinx venusta and identifying it as the type species of the genus Coronasyrinx. In 1969, Powell recombined the species, leading to the currently accepted scientific name Cochlespira venusta. The holotype was collected prior to 1944 from Fossil Beach, Balcombe Bay, Victoria, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Distribution
This extinct marine species occurs in early to middle Miocene strata of the Port Phillip Basin of Victoria, Australia, including the Puebla Formation and Gellibrand Formation.
References