Stellaria testigera

Stellaria testigera
Temporal range: Miocene - Pliocene
A view of a fossil shell of Stellaria testigera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Xenophoroidea
Family: Xenophoridae
Genus: Stellaria
Species: S. testigera
Binomial name
Stellaria testigera
(Bronn, 1831)
Synonyms[1]
  • Phorus testigerus Bronn, 1831
  • Xenophora (Stellaria) testigera (Bronn, 1831)

Stellaria testigera, common name Finger Carrier Shell, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Xenophoridae, the carrier shells.[1]

Subspecies

Distribution

Stellaria testigera profunda is present in the Gulf of Aden and in North East Africa,[2] while Stellaria testigera digitata can be found in Senegal and Western Africa.[3]

Description

Shells of Stellaria testigera profunda can reach a size of 45–80 millimetres (1.8–3.1 in),[2] while in Stellaria testigera digitata they can reach 50–75 millimetres (2.0–3.0 in).[3] These shells are characterized by the expanded peripherical flange, the presence of digitations and the smooth dorsal surface.[4][5]

Fossil record

Fossils of Stellaria testigera are found in marine strata from the Miocene to Pliocene (age range: from 20.43 to 3.6 million years ago.). Fossils are known from Italy, Denmark and Slovakia.[6] These mollusks lived in the Mediterranean and spread to the Atlantic Africa and the Gulf of Aden.[4][7]

References

  1. 1 2 Stellaria testigera (Bronn, 1831). WoRMS (2010). Stellaria testigera (Bronn, 1831). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=468050 on 9 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 S. t. profunda at Gastropods
  3. 1 2 S.t. digitata at Gastropods
  4. 1 2 Sven N. Nielsen, T. J. DeVries Tertiary Xenophoridae (Gastropoda) of western South America The Nautilus. - Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum - American Malacologists, Inc. - Delaware Museum of Natural History. v.116:no.1-3 (2002) Page 75
  5. ↑ Stromboidea
  6. ↑ Paleobiology Database
  7. ↑ Storia della specie Stellaria testigera


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