Pontiothauma
genus of Gastropoda
Pontiothauma is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Raphitomidae.
Description
The fusiform shell is not umbilicate, anteriorly rostrate and obliquely folded, It is spirally furrowed by lirae. The aperture ends in a short siphonal canal. The simple columella is not folded. The outer lip is thin, posteriorly wide but not deeply sinuate. The shell lacks an operculum.
The enormously expanded rostrum, and the absence of eyes, radula, and operculum, at once separate this genus from any which it approaches in shell-character.
Species
Species within the genus Pontiothauma include:
Pontiothauma abyssicola Smith E. A., 1895
Pontiothauma minus Smith E. A., 1906
Pontiothauma mirabile Smith E. A., 1895
Pontiothauma pacei Smith E. A., 1906
Species brought into synonymy
Pontiothauma ergata Hedley, 1916: synonym of Belaturricula ergata (Hedley, 1916)
Pontiothauma fusiforme Habe, 1962: synonym of Spergo fusiformis (Habe, 1962) (original combination)
Pontiothauma hedleyi Dell, 1990: synonym of Aforia hedleyi (Dell, 1990)
Pontiothauma viridis (Okutani, 1966): synonym of Belomitra viridis (Okutani, 1966)
References
Pace, S. "On the Anatomy of the Prosobranch Genus Pontiothauma, EA Smith." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 28.186 (1903): 455-462.
Smith, Edgar A. "I.—Natural history notes from HM Indian marine survey steamer ‘Investigator,’commander CF Oldham, RN—Series II., No. 19.
“Pontiothauma” enters the record as genus of Gastropoda. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Pontiothauma, genus and Gastropoda can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Pontiothauma” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Pontiothauma, genus and Gastropoda provides the most credible route into that argument.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3719523. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1895, 1906, 1916 and 1962.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pontiothauma”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pontiothauma primary sources, Pontiothauma archive and Pontiothauma research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pontiothauma”?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
- Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pontiothauma” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.