Stellaria testigera

Stellaria testigera
Temporal range: Miocene - Pliocene
A view of a fossil shell of Stellaria testigera
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Xenophoridae
Genus: Stellaria
Species:
S. testigera
Binomial name
Stellaria testigera
(Bronn, 1831)
Synonyms
  • Phorus testigerus Bronn, 1831
  • Xenophora (Stellaria) testigera (Bronn, 1831)

Stellaria testigera, the finger carrier shell, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Xenophoridae, the carrier shells.

Subspecies

Distribution

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

Description

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

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. These mollusks lived in the Mediterranean and spread to the Atlantic Africa and the Gulf of Aden.

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