Syngenochilus is a genus of minute gastropod molluscs belonging to the superfamily Conoidea, currently unassigned to a family.[1] The genus is a fossil taxon, known to occur between the late Eocene to the early Miocene, and has been found in fossil beds in Victoria, Australia.
| Syngenochilus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype of Syngenochilus radiapex | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Conoidea |
| Genus: | †Syngenochilus Powell, 1944 |
| Type species | |
| Syngenochilus radiapex | |
Description
editIn the original description, Powell described the genus as below:
This genus resembles the Cancellarid Inglisella, but is actually a small, heavily sculptured Daphnellid close to Teleochilus, but differing from that genus in having an axially ridged protoconch instead of spiral cords.[2]
Members of the genus have a small ovate or ovate-fusiform shell measuring up to 7.25 mm (0.285 in), with a bluntly rounded apex. Syngenochilus has a small, flattened protoconch, that has a half whorl with a flattened tip. The following whorl has axial ribs that merge into its teleoconch.[3][4]
The genus is visually similar to Parasyngenochilus, but can be differentiated due to Syngenochilus having a flat smooth portion of the protonch, compared to the dome-shape typical of Parasyngenochilus,[3] and differentiated from Teleochilus due to the shorter and smaller aperture seen in Syngenochilus.[4] S. johannaensis can be differentiated from S. radiapex due to having widely spaced and persistent axial ribbing.[3]
Taxonomy
editThe genus was first described by A. W. B. Powell in 1944, naming S. radiapex as the type species.[2] The genus was monotypic until 1981, when D. C. Long described S. johannaensis.[3] The holotype of S. radiapex is held by the Auckland War Memorial Museum,[5] and S. johannaensis by the National Museum of Victoria.[3] The genus was placed in the superfamily Conoidea but excluded from the family Turridae by Yu I Kantor et al. in 2024.[6]
Distribution
editSpecies
editSpecies within the genus Syngenochilus include:[1]
- † Syngenochilus johannaensis D. C. Long, 1981
- † Syngenochilus radiapex A. W. B. Powell, 1944
References
edit- 1 2 Syngenochilus A. W. B. Powell, 1944 †. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 21 October 2025.
- 1 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.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Long, D. C. (1981). "Late Eocene and early Oligocene Turridae (Gastropoda: Prosobranchiata) of the Brown's Creek and Glen Aire clays, Victoria, Australia". Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria. 42: 15–55, pls 4–7. doi:10.24199/j.mmv.1981.42.03.
- 1 2 Powell, A. W. B. (1 November 1966). "The molluscan families Speightiidae and Turridae: an evaluation of the valid taxa, both recent and fossil, with lists of characteristic species". Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 5. Auckland Institute and Museum. ISSN 0067-0456. LCCN 67091267. OCLC 956602. Wikidata Q115098397.
- 1 2 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. OCLC 1550165130. Wikidata Q135397912.
- ↑ Kantor, Yu I; Bouchet, Philippe; Fedosov, Alexander; Puillandre, Nicolas; Zaharias, Paul (December 2024). "Generic revision of the Recent Turridae (Neogastropoda: Conoidea)". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 90 (5) eyae032: 1–40. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyae032.
- ↑ 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.