''Astraea'' is a genus of medium to large

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

s, marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s 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.marinespecie ...

, the turban snails.Bouchet, P. (2012). Astraea Röding, 1798. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species a
WoRMS taxon details
on 2012-03-15

Etymology

The Latin genus ''Astraea'' means ''star'', with reference to the star-shape of these snails, also commonly called ''star shells''.The Grazing Snails, Part I - Turbo, Trochus, Astraea, and Kin
/ref>

Description

Shells of species within this genus can reach a size of about . They have the appearance of a smooth conical shell. The outer edges of the coiled

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). In nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagram ...

are quite flattened, with prominent axial sculpture. Below widely, it is umbilicate and concave.

Species

Extant

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

within this genus include: *''

Astraea heliotropium ''Astraea heliotropium'', common name the sunburst star turban or the circular saw shell, is a large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc of the family Turbinidae, the turbans and star snails.WoRMS (2010). ''Astraea heliotropium'' (Martyn, 178 ...

'' (Martyn, 1784)

Fossil records

This genus is known in the fossil records from the

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

to the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

(age range: from 61.7 to 0.0 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found in the sediments of Europe, Australia, United States, Japan, Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil.

Species

Extinct species within this genus include:Astraea Röding 1798 (snail)
/ref> *†''Astraea (Liotiastralium) venezuelana'' Weisbord 1962 *†''Astraea (Pomaulax) gradata'' Grant and Gale 1931 *†''Astraea (Pomaulax) morani'' Loel and Corey 1932 *†''Astraea (Vitiastraea) holmesi'' Ladd 1966 *† '' Astraea bicarinata'' Suter, 1917 *†''Astraea fimbriata'' Borson 1821Astraea fimbriata, Borson 1821
/ref> * ''

'' (Martyn, 1784) *†''Astraea stellare'' Gmelin 1791 *† '' Astraea stirps'' Laws, 1932 *†''Astraea tentoriiformis'' Jonas, 1844 ;Species brought into synonymy *†''Astraea (Australium) rhodestoma'' Lamarck 1822: synonym of '' Astralium rhodostomum'' (Lamarck, 1822) * ''Astraea americana'' (Gmelin, 1791): synonym of ''

Lithopoma americanum ''Lithopoma americanum'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Turbinidae, the turban snails. Distribution This marine snail occurs in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and off the Lesser Anti ...

'' (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Astraea andersoni'' (Smith, 1902): synonym of ''

Bolma andersoni ''Bolma andersoni'', common name Anderson's star shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails. Description The size of the shell varies between 50 mm and 87 mm. Distributio ...

'' (Smith, 1902) * ''Astraea babelis'' (P. Fischer, 1874): synonym of '' Uvanilla babelis'' (P. Fischer, 1874) * ''Astraea brevispina'' (Lamarck, 1822): synonym of '' Lithopoma brevispina'' (Lamarck, 1822) * ''Astraea buschii'' (Philippi, 1844): synonym of '' Uvanilla buschii'' (Philippi, 1844) * ''Astraea calcar'' (Linnaeus, 1758): synonym of ''

Astralium calcar ''Astralium calcar'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Turbinidae, the turban snails. Description The height of the shell is 28 mm, its diameter 40 mm. The conoid shell is more or ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *''Astraea cookii'' (Gmelin, 1791): synonym of ''

Cookia sulcata ''Cookia'' is a genus of large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails. ''Cookia'' is sometimes treated as a subgenus of the genus ''Bolma'' The genus was named after Captain James Cook Captain ( ...

'' (Lightfoot, 1786) * ''Astraea cubanum'' Philippi, 1849: synonym of '' Lithopoma tectum'' (Lightfoot, 1786) *''Astraea danieli'' Alf & Kreipl, 2006: synonym of '' Astralium danieli'' (Alf & Kreipl, 2006) * ''Astraea dominicana'' A. H. Verrill, 1950: synonym of '' Lithopoma tuber'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Astraea gilchristi'' (G. B. Sowerby III, 1903): synonym of ''

Bolma bathyraphis ''Bolma bathyraphis'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails.Bouchet, P. (2012). ''Bolma bathyraphis'' (E. A. Smith, 1899). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http:// ...

'' (E. A. Smith, 1899) * ''Astraea heimburgi'' (Dunker, 1882): synonym of '' Astralium heimburgi'' (Dunker, 1882) * ''Astraea hokianga'' Laws, 1948: synonym of '' Bembicium hokianga'' (Laws, 1948) * ''Astraea imbricata'' (Gmelin, 1791): synonym of '' Lithopoma tectum'' (Lightfoot, 1786) * ''Astraea imbricatum'' Gmelin, 1791: synonym of '' Lithopoma tectum'' (Lightfoot, 1786) * ''Astraea jacquelineae'' Marche-Marchad, 1957: synonym of '' Bolma jacquelineae'' (Marche-Marchad, 1957) * ''Astraea johnstoni'' (Odhner, 1923): synonym of '' Bolma johnstoni'' (Odhner, 1923) * ''Astraea lapidifera'' Röding, 1798: synonym of ''Xenophora (Xenophora) conchyliophora'' (Born, 1780) * ''Astraea latispina'' (Philippi, 1844): synonym of '' Astralium latispina'' (Philippi, 1844) * ''Astraea longispina'' Lamarck, 1822: synonym of '' Lithopoma phoebium longispina'' (Lamarck, 1822) * ''Astraea milloni'' B. Salvat, F. Salvat & Richard, 1973: synonym of '' Astralium milloni'' (B. Salvat, F. Salvat & Richard, 1973) * ''Astraea olfersii'' (Philippi, 1846): synonym of ''

'' (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Astraea olivacea'' (W. Wood, 1828): synonym of '' Uvanilla olivacea'' (W. Wood, 1828) * ''Astraea papillatum'' Potiez & Michaud, 1838: synonym of '' Lithopoma tectum'' (Lightfoot, 1786) * ''Astraea persica'' Dall, 1907: synonym of ''

Bolma persica ''Bolma persica'', common name the peach bolma, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails. Description The size of the shell varies between 15 mm and 40 mm. Its color pattern is ...

'' (Dall, 1907) * ''Astraea petrothauma'' Berry, 1940: synonym of ''

Megastraea turbanica ''Megastraea'' is a genus of medium-sized to large sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classificatio ...

'' (Dall, 1910) * ''Astraea phoebia'' Röding, 1798: synonym of '' Lithopoma phoebium'' (Röding, 1798) * ''Astraea polaris'' Röding, 1798: synonym of ''

Stellaria solaris ''Stellaria solaris'', common name the sun carrier shell, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Xenophoridae Xenophoridae, common name, commonly called carrier shells, is a family (biology), family of mediu ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1764) * ''Astraea rhodostoma'' Lamarck, 1822: synonym of '' Astralium rhodostomum'' (Lamarck, 1822) * ''Astraea rugosa'' (Linnaeus, 1767): synonym of ''

Bolma rugosa ''Bolma rugosa'' is a species of large sea snail in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails. It occurs in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea. Description The size of the shell varies between 25 mm and 70 mm. The ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1767) * ''Astraea rupicollina'' Stohler, 1959: synonym of ''

'' (Dall, 1910) * ''Astraea semicostata'' (Kiener, 1850): synonym of '' Astralium semicostatum'' (Kiener, 1850) * ''Astraea sirius'' Hedley, C., 1923: synonym of '' Astralium tentoriiforme'' (Jonas, 1845) * ''Astraea spirata'' (Dall, 1911): synonym of ''

Pomaulax spiratus ''Pomaulax spiratus'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails.Bouchet, P. (2012). ''Pomaulax spiratus'' (Dall, 1911). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.mar ...

'' (Dall, 1911) * ''Astraea sulcata'' (Martyn, 1784): synonym of ''

'' (Lightfoot, 1786) * ''Astraea tayloriana'' (E. A. Smith, 1880): synonym of '' Bolma tayloriana'' (E. A. Smith, 1880) * ''Astraea tectum'' Lightfoot, 1786: synonym of '' Lithopoma tectum'' (Lightfoot, 1786) * ''Astraea tuber'' (Linnaeus, 1758): synonym of '' Lithopoma tuber'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Astraea tuberosum'': synonym of '' Astralium rhodostomum'' (Lamarck, 1822) * ''Astraea undosa'' (Wood, 1828): synonym for '' Lithopoma undosum'' (Wood, 1828) * ''Astraea unguis'' (Wood, 1828): synonym of '' Uvanilla unguis'' (W. Wood, 1828) * ''Astraea venezuelensis'' Flores & Caceres, 1984: synonym of '' Lithopoma tuber'' (Linnaeus, 1758)

References

* Gofas, S.; Afonso, J.P.; Brandào, M. (Ed.). (S.a.). ''Conchas e Moluscos de Angola = Coquillages et Mollusques d'Angola. hells and molluscs of Angola'' Universidade Agostinho / Elf Aquitaine Angola: Angola. 140 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 {{Taxonbar, from=Q4811178 Turbinidae Gastropod genera Extant Selandian first appearances