Pleuromeris murdochi is an extinct species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Carditidae. Fossils of the species date to the Pleistocene in New Zealand.
Description
In the original description, Powell described the species as follows:
The holotype of the species has a height of , length of and a single valve thickness of . It can be differentiated from P. marshalli due to having more numerous radial ribs, and interspaces that are narrower and almost linear.
Taxonomy
The species was first described by A.W.B. Powell in 1938. In 2017, Damián E. Pérez and Claudia J. del Río recombined the species as Kolmeris murdochi, a change currently not accepted by the World Register of Marine Species. The holotype was collected at a date prior to 1939 by A. W. B. Powell, from lighthouse reef, Castlepoint, Wairarapa, New Zealand, and is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Distribution
This extinct marine species occurs in Pleistocene (Nukumaruan stage) strata of New Zealand, dating to 2.40 million years before the present.
References