Heliacus asteleformis

Heliacus asteleformis
Shell of Heliacus asteleformis (specimen at the Auckland War Memorial Museum)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Family:	Architectonicidae
Genus:	Heliacus
Species:	H. asteleformis
Binomial name
Heliacus asteleformis Powell, 1965
Synonyms
Gyriscus asteleformisA. W. B. Powell, 1965 (superseded combination) Gyriscus hayashiiShikama, 1970 (junior subjective synonym) Heliacus (Gyriscus) asteleformis(A. W. B. Powell, 1965) alternative representation

Heliacus asteleformis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Architectonicidae, known as the staircase shells or sundials.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand, found between the northern tip of the North Island and the Three Kings Islands.

Habitat

This species is found at depths of about 90 m.

Description

The shell height is up to 8 mm, and the width is up to 7.5 mm.

References

• Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN   0-00-216906-1

External links

• Powell, A. W. B. (1965). New Zealand molluscan systematics with descriptions of new species: part 5. Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 6: 161–168, pl. 22.
• Shikama, T. (1970). On some noteworthy marine gastropoda from southwestern Japan (II). Science Reports of the Yokohama National University. section 2 (Geol.), 16:19-27, 1 pl.
• Photo