Kingdom Animalia Class Gastropoda Superfamily Trochoidea Scientific name Astralium haematragum | Phylum Mollusca Clade Vetigastropoda Family Turbinidae Rank Species | |
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Similar Astralium, Lunella cinerea, Astralium stellare, Cookia sulcata, Astralium latispina | ||
Astralium haematragum, common name the Pacific star shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails.
Contents
Description
The size of the shell varies between 15 mm and 25 mm. The imperforate shell is pale ashen. It has an elevated-conic shape with an acute apex. The seven whorls are planulate above, with radiating oblique folds, which are produced into short spines at the periphery. The body whorl is carinated, with ten to twelve spines in a single series. The base of the shell is plano-concave, concentrically squamose-lirate. The aperture is transverse, channelled at the carina. The columella is arcuate, purple or blue margined, dentate at its base.
Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Southwest Pacific and off Japan.