Astele monile, common name the Australian necklace, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae.[2]

Astele monile
Drawing of a shell of Astele monile
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Vetigastropoda
Order: Trochida
Superfamily: Trochoidea
Family: Calliostomatidae
Genus: Astele
Species:
A. monile
Binomial name
Astele monile
(Reeve, 1863) [1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Calliostoma (Astele) monile (Reeve, L.A., 1863)
  • Calliostoma (Laetifautor) monile (Reeve, 1863)
  • Laetifautor monilis (Reeve, 1863)
  • Zizyphinus monile Reeve, 1863

Some authors place this taxon in the subgenus Astele (Astele)

Description

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The size of the shell varies between 15 mm and 25 mm. The shell has an erectly conical shape but is rather swollen at the base. It is transparent white, encircled by a necklace of violet spots. The whorls are concavely sloping, spirally ridged. These ridges are smooth with the two basal ridges more prominent. The necklace of violet spots has an exceedingly pretty appearance on the delicate transparent ground of the shell.[3]

Distribution

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This marine species is endemic to Australia and occurs off Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland.

References

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  1. ^ Reeve, Conch. Icon., f 39 (1863)
  2. ^ a b Astele monile (Reeve, 1863). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 22 April 2010.
  3. ^ Tryon (1889), Manual of Conchology XI, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia (described as Calliostoma monile)
  • Wilson, B. R. & Gillett, K. 1971. Australian shells: illustrating and describing 600 species of marine gastropods found in Australian waters. Sydney : Reed Books 168 pp.
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  • "Calliostoma (Astele) monile". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  • Jansen, P. 2000. A preliminary checklist of the recent Australian Trochidae