Thyca

Thyca is a genus of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Eulimidae.^[1] These snails are ectoparasites of starfish; they are relatively unmodified, the underside having become a suction disc with a central mouth that draws nourishment from the host's tissues.^[2]

Thyca
Shell of Thyca crystallina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Eulimidae
Genus:	Thyca H. Adams & A. Adams, 1854
Type species
Pileopsis astericola A. Adams & Reeve, 1850
Synonyms[1]
Bessomia Berry, 1959 Capulus (Thyca) Granulithyca Habe, 1976 Kiramodulus Kuroda, 1949 Thyca (Bessomia) Berry, 1959 · accepted, alternate representation Thyca (Kiramodulus) Kuroda, 1949 · accepted, alternate representation Thyca (Thyca) H. Adams & A. Adams, 1854 · accepted, alternate representation

Description

The conical shell is longitudinally grooved, transparent and slightly curved.^[3]

Species

Species within the genus Thyca include:^[1]

• Thyca astericola (A. Adams & Reeve, 1850)
• Thyca callista Berry, 1959
• Thyca crystallina (Gould, 1846)
• Thyca ectoconcha P. Sarasin & F. Sarasin, 1887
• Thyca hawaiiensis Warén, 1980
• Thyca lactea (Kuroda, 1949)
• Thyca nardoafrianti (Habe, 1976)
• Thyca sagamiensis (Kuroda & Habe, 1971)
• Thyca stellasteris Koehler & Vaney, 1912

Species brought into synonymy

• Thyca pellucida Kükenthal, 1897: synonym of Thyca crystallina (Gould, 1846)