''Lithopoma'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of medium-sized to large sea snails with a

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

operculum, marine gastropod

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 ...

s in the subfamily Turbininae of the family

Turbinidae Turbinidae, the turban snails, are a family of small to large marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Trochoidea.Bouchet, P. (2014). Turbinidae Rafinesque, 1815. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies ...

, the turban snails.Bouchet, P.; Rosenberg, G. (2011). Lithopoma Gray, 1850. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=240760 on 2011-11-09

Description

The elevated, imperforate shell has a turbinate or trochiform shape. with a plicate spire that is flat or concave below. Its periphery is carinated or rounded. The base of the shell is somewhat convex. The whorls above are radiately plicate. The operculum is oval, outside coarsely granulose, and either simply convex or with a curved spiral rib with its terminations connected by a straight one. The nucleus is submarginal.G.W. Tryon (1888), Manual of Conchology X; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
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Distribution

This genus occurs in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

, the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

and off the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

Species

Species within this genus were previously placed in the genus ''

Astraea Astraea, Astrea or Astria ( grc, Ἀστραία, Astraía; "star-maiden" or "starry night"), in ancient Greek religion, is a daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She is the virgin goddess of justice, innocence, purity and precision. She is closely as ...

''. They include: * '' Lithopoma americanum'' (Gmelin, 1791) * '' Lithopoma brevispina'' (Lamarck, 1822) * '' Lithopoma caelatum'' (Gmelin, 1791) * '' Lithopoma phoebium'' (Röding, 1798) * '' Lithopoma tectum'' (Lightfoot, 1786) * '' Lithopoma tuber'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758) ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Lithopoma gibberosa'' (Dillwyn, 1817) : synonym of '' Pomaulax gibberosus'' (Dillwyn, 1817) * ''Lithopoma gibberosum'' (Dillwyn, 1817): synonym of '' Pomaulax gibberosus'' (Dillwyn, 1817) * ''Lithopoma heliotropium'' (Martyn, T., 1784): synonym of '' Astraea heliotropium'' (Martyn, 1784) * ''Lithopoma imbricatum'' Gmelin, J.F., 1791: synonym of '' Lithopoma tectum'' (Lightfoot, 1786) * ''Lithopoma phoebium longispina'' Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de, 1822: synonym of '' Lithopoma phoebium'' (Röding, 1798) * ''Lithopoma tectum americanum'' (Gmelin, 1791): synonym of '' Lithopoma americanum'' (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Lithopoma tuber venezuelensis'' Flores, C. & Cáceres de Talarico, 1980: synonym of '' Lithopoma tuber'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Lithopoma undosum'' (W. Wood, 1828): synonym of ''

Megastraea undosa ''Megastraea undosa'', common name the wavy turban snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Turbinidae, the turban snails. This species is native to the coast of California. Distribution This ...

'' (W. Wood, 1828)

References

* 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

* Malacolog info at

Lithopoma, Turbinidae Gastropod genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{Turbinidae-stub