Pleurotomella A. E. Verrill, 1872

Figueira, Raquel Medeiros Andrade & Absalão, Ricardo Silva, 2012, Deep-water Raphitomidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Conoidea) from the Campos Basin, southeast Brazil, Zootaxa 3527, pp. 1-27 : 20

Genus Pleurotomella A. E. Verrill, 1872

Type species: Pleurotomella packardii A. E. Verrill, 1872 , by original designation.

Remarks: This genus was first proposed to include species with a very deep anal sinus and diagonally cancelled protoconch ( Verrill, 1872). In later papers, Verrill (1882: 453; 1884: 146) added to these characters a broad subsutural band crossed by axial ribs corresponding to the form of the anal sinus, anterior siphonal canal well developed, outer lip thin, shell high and elongated with shouldered whorls, teleoconch with strong axial ribs and weaker spiral sculpture. All of these traits are clearly present in the type species, Pleurotomella packardii Verrill, 1872 .

All of the species that we have classified as Pleurotomella have the teleoconch surface covered by tiny granules. We are not sure of the importance of this trait, and in their article, Bouchet & Warén (1980) included species with both grainy and smooth surfaces in this genus.