Astralium calcar

Astralium calcar is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails.^[1]

Astralium calcar
Five views of a shell of Astralium calcar
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Vetigastropoda
Order:	Trochida
Superfamily:	Trochoidea
Family:	Turbinidae
Genus:	Astralium
Species:	A. calcar
Binomial name
Astralium calcar (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
Astralium (Cyclocantha) calcar (Linnaeus, 1758) Astralium (Cyclocantha) laciniatum Gould, 1849 Calcar sporio Montfort, 1810 Calcar sporio Montfort, 1810 Trochus stella Lamarck, 1822 Turbo calcar Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym) Turbo lacinatum Gould, 1849

Close up apical view of Shell of Astralium calcar (Linnaeus, 1758), measuring 15.9 mm height by 27.7 mm diameter, trawled in deep water in the Philippines.

Description

The height of the shell is 28 mm, its diameter 40 mm. The conoid shell is more or less depressed at the apex. Its color pattern is grayish-greenish, or brownish-cinereous. The six whorls are flattened above, and radiately plicate, the folds rather unequal and irregular. The periphery is carinate and spinose, bearing about twelve radiating more or less foliated spines on the body whorl. This body whorl descends deeply toward the aperture. The convex base is concentrically more or less densely squamosely lirate, the outer lirae are generally prominent and subspinose, sometimes causing the periphery to appear bicarinate. The aperture is transversely oval, very oblique, generally golden within, and stained with purple or blue on the columella.^[2]

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the Philippines, Indo-Malaysia and Queensland, Australia.