Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Bellastraea aurea

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Class
  
Gastropoda

Superfamily
  
Trochoidea

Scientific name
  
Bellastraea aurea

Phylum
  
Mollusca

Clade
  
Vetigastropoda

Family
  
Turbinidae

Rank
  
Species

Bellastraea aurea

Similar
  
Lithopoma brevispina, Astralium semicostatum, Lithopoma americanum, Lithopoma caelatum, Astralium stellare

Bellastraea aurea, common name the golden small star, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails.

Contents

Description

The height of the shell varies between 10 mm and 14 mm, its diameter between 12 mm and 19 mm. The small, solid, imperforate shell has a depressed-conic shape. Its color pattern is golden yellow or olive. The spire is low-conic and contains five whorls. These are scarcely convex above, and plicate at the sutures. tTe folds become fainter and frequently, bifurcating toward the periphery. The whorls are spirally lirate, the lirae below rather coarse, beaded, above finer, cutting the folds more or less into granules. The body whorl generally descends toward the aperture, and is compressed toward the periphery, which is subangular except in large specimens . The oblique aperture is rather smal and is pearly white. The columellar callus is dilated over the umbilical region, and excavated there, and with an indistinct denticle near its base.

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to Australia and occurs in the shallow subtidal zone off South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

References

Bellastraea aurea Wikipedia