[6] These species share a habitat and have overlapping distributions, suggesting that Quaternary sea level changes may have fragmented populations of Paralaoma, leading to speciation.

[7] Powell's original text (the type description) reads as follows: Shell minute, depressed-turbinate, narrowly umbilicated, closely radially costate, microscopically densely spirally striate, thin, shining, uniformly light brown.

Post-nuclear sculpture of numerous somewhat irregular rounded radial ribs, stronger on dorsal surface; about 60 on the penultimate and approximately 90 on the body-whorl.

Umbilicus deep, narrow and straight sided, about one-eighth major diameter of the base.

[8] They can be distinguished from P. manawatawhia due to the shells of this species being brown, bigger and having heavier ribbing.