Lithopoma phoebium (Röding 1798)

Lithopoma phoebium, common name the longspine star shell, is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails.^[1]

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.^[2]

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 76 mm (almost 3 inches).^[3]

Habitat

The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0 m; maximum recorded depth is 91 m.^[3]

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  basal view

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  apertural view

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  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.