Stellaria testigera
{{Short description|Species of gastropod}}
{{Taxobox
| image = Xenophoridae - Stellaria testigera.JPG
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = A view of a fossil shell of Stellaria testigera
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|20.43|3.6|Miocene - Pliocene}}
| regnum = Animalia
| phylum = Mollusca
| classis = Gastropoda
| unranked_superfamilia = clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
| superfamilia = Xenophoroidea
| familia = Xenophoridae
| subfamilia =
| genus = Stellaria
| subgenus =
| species = S. testigera
| binomial = Stellaria testigera
| binomial_authority = (Bronn, 1831)
| synonyms = * 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.{{WRMS species|468050|Stellaria testigera (Bronn, 1831)|||WoRMS (2010). Stellaria testigera (Bronn, 1831). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at
Subspecies
- Stellaria testigera profunda Ponder, 1983
- Stellaria testigera digitata Martens, 1878
Distribution
Stellaria testigera profunda is present in the Gulf of Aden and in North East Africa,[http://www.gastropods.com/3/Shell_6403.shtml S. t. profunda at Gastropods] while Stellaria testigera digitata can be found in Senegal and Western Africa.[http://www.gastropods.com/6/Shell_1596.shtml S.t. digitata at Gastropods]
Description
Shells of Stellaria testigera profunda can reach a size of {{convert|45|-|80|mm}}, while in Stellaria testigera digitata they can reach {{convert|50|-|75|mm}}. These shells are characterized by the expanded peripherical flange, the presence of digitations and the smooth dorsal surface.[http://www.stromboidea.de/?n=Species.StellariaTestigera Stromboidea]
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.[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=323699 Paleobiology Database] These mollusks lived in the Mediterranean and spread to the Atlantic Africa and the Gulf of Aden.Sven N. Nielsen, T. J. DeVries [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8270615#page/97/mode/1up 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[http://naturalistamelegnanese.blogspot.it/2015/06/storia-della-specie-stellaria-testigera.html Storia della specie Stellaria testigera]
References
{{Reflist}}
- Kreipl K. & Alf A. (1999). Recent Xenophoridae. Conchbooks, Hackenheim > Germany. 148pp.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q10821438}}
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1831
{{Xenophoridae-stub}}