''Bellastraea squamifera'', the scaly star shell, 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

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 ...

Turbinidae, the turban snails.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 15 mm and 30 mm.

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to Australia and occurs off

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Victoria and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

References

* Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de M. 1822. ''Histoire Naturelle des Animaux sans Vertèbres.'' Suite des Gastéropodes. Paris : J.B. Lamarck Vol. 6(2) 232 pp * Philippi, R.A. 1844. ''Abbildungen und Beschreibungen neuer oder wenig gekannter Conchylien''. Cassel : Theodor Fischer Vol. 1 pp. 77–204. * Pritchard, G.B. & Gatliff, J.H. 1906. ''Catalogue of the Marine Shells of Victoria. Part IX. With complete index to the whole Catalogue''. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 18(2): 39–92 * Iredale, T. 1924. ''Results from Roy Bell's molluscan collections''. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 49(3): 179–279, pl. 33-36 * Cotton, B.C. 1945. ''Southern Australian Gastropoda. Part 1. Streptoneura.'' Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 69(1): 150–171 * Cotton, B.C. 1959. ''South Australian Mollusca. Archaeogastropoda. Handbook of the Flora and Fauna of South Australia.'' Adelaide : South Australian Government Printer 449 pp * Macpherson, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J. 1962. ''Marine Molluscs of Victoria''. Melbourne : Melbourne University Press & National Museum of Victoria 475 pp. * Iredale, T. & McMichael, D.F. 1962. ''A reference list of the marine Mollusca of New South Wales''. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 11: 1–109 * Wilson, B. 1993. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods''. Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp * Williams, S.T. (2007). ''Origins and diversification of Indo-West Pacific marine fauna: evolutionary history and biogeography of turban shells (Gastropoda, Turbinidae)''. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 92, 573–592 * Alf A. & Kreipl K. (2011) ''The family Turbinidae. Subfamilies Turbininae Rafinesque, 1815 and Prisogasterinae Hickman & McLean, 1990''. In: G.T. Poppe & K. Groh (eds), A Conchological Iconography. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. pp. 1–82, pls 104–245.

External links

* squamifera Gastropods described in 1924 {{Turbinidae-stub