''Asterophila japonica'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Eulimidae Eulimidae is a family of very small parasitic sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Vanikoroidea. Description These small parasitic snails live on (or in some cases in) the bodies of echinoderms such as sea cucumbers, sea ...

. The species is one of three known species within the genus ''

Asterophila ''Asterophila'' is a genus of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Eulimidae.Randall & Heath, 1912. Warén A. & Lewis L.M. (1994) Two new species of eulimid gastropods endoparasitic in asteroids. The Veliger 37(4):325- ...

'', the other congeneric species being '' Asterophila perknasteri'' and '' Asterophila rathbunasteri''.Randall & Heath, 1912. Warén A. & Lewis L.M. (1994) Tho new species of eulimid gastropods endoparasitic in asteroids. The Veliger 37(4):325-335. Accessed through:

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=536279 on 2013-02-11.Turgeon, D.; Quinn, J.F.; Bogan, A.E.; Coan, E.V.; Hochberg, F.G.; Lyons, W.G.; Mikkelsen, P.M.; Neves, R.J.; Roper, C.F.E.; Rosenberg, G.; Roth, B.; Scheltema, A.; Thompson, F.G.; Vecchione, M.; Williams, J.D. (1998). Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: mollusks. 2nd ed. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, 26. American Fisheries Society: Bethesda, MD (USA). . IX, 526 + cd-rom pp. (look up in IMIS) page(s): 89

Distribution

This mollusk's anatomy and its reported distribution has changed over time. It was once thought to have lived in the Atlantic Ocean around New Jersey. But now new evidence has shown that this species lives in starfish around the Asiatic Coast of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Anatomy

This species has now been proven to be very similar to those in the families Melanellidae-Entoconchidae, so it is not necessary to allocate it its own family as the taxonomist Thiele did in 1929. However, there are some similarities and some differences. The larva is a typical veliger with smaller lobes like the Melanellidae-Entoconchidae. However this larva has a pericardium and a kidney.

References

External links

To World Register of Marine Species
Eulimidae Gastropods described in 1912 {{Eulimidae-stub