''Lithopoma americanum'' 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 ...

of sea snail, a 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 ...

in the

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

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.

Distribution

This marine snail 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 ...

Description

The maximum recorded

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

length is .Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". '' PLoS ONE'' 5(1): e8776. . The elevated, imperforate, solid shell has a trochiform shape. Its color pattern is white or yellowish. The shell contains seven whorls. The upper three whorls are smooth in adults by erosion of the

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

, flattened or concave on their upper surfaces, longitudinally obliquely plicate. The folds number about thirty-six on the body whorl and terminate on the periphery in nodules (or spines in the young,) generally intersected about the middle by two to four spiral impressed lines. The periphery is angled, more or less swollen. The base of the shell is nearly flat, more or less sharply radiately striate, and spirally lirate. The frequently nodulose lirae number about six, or sometimes more. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

is very oblique. The outer

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is usually crenulated. The short

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

is heavy, bituberculate at its base, and bounded by a radiately plicate cordon. The operculum is oval, light brown within, with a sublateral nucleus. Its outside is convex, white, granulose, more or less excavated around the upper margin, excavated near the center. Young specimens show a stout curved central rib following the spiral, its ends connected by a short straight rib.G.W. Tryon (1888), Manual of Conchology X; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
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Habitat

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m. Maximum recorded depth is .

References

* Gmelin, J. F. 1791. ''Systema naturae per regna tria naturae''. Editio decima tertia. Systema Naturae, 13th ed., vol. 1(6): 3021–3910. Lipsiae * Röding, P. F. 1798. Museum Boltenianum. viii + 199 pp. Hamburg * Petuch, E. J. 1994. ''Atlas of Florida Fossil Shells''. xii + 394 pp., 100 pls. Chicago Spectrum Press: Evanston, Illinois * 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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lithopoma americanum americanum Gastropods described in 1791 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin