''Lithopoma phoebium'', common name the longspine 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 ...

of medium-sized 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

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. (2011). Lithopoma phoebium (Röding, 1798). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=413409 on 2012-03-15

Distribution

This is a tropical Western Atlantic species. Distribution of ''Lithopoma phoebium'' include: Aruba, Belize, Bonaire, Caribbean Sea, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Gulf of Mexico, Jamaica, Lesser Antilles, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, San Andres, The United States, and Venezuela.Rosenberg, G. (2010). ''Astralium phoebium'' (Röding, 1798). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=419498 on 2011-03-17

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 76 mm (almost 3 inches).Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". '' PLoS ONE'' 5(1): e8776. .

Habitat

The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0 m; maximum recorded depth is 91 m. File:Astralium phoebium 001.jpg, basal view File:Astralium phoebium 002.jpg, apertural view File:Astralium phoebium 003.jpg, apical view

References

* Turgeon, D.D., et al. 1998. ''Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates of the United States and Canada''. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26 page(s): 59 * 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. * Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. ''Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico'', Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas * 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

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3138265 phoebium Gastropods described in 1798