Aspa is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Bursidae, the frog shells.[1]

Aspa
Temporal range: Miocene - Recent
Fossil shell of Aspa marginata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Bursidae
Genus: Aspa
H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853
Type species
Ranella laevigata Lamarck, 1822
Synonyms

Bursa (Aspa) H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (original rank)

Description

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The ovate shell is ventricose and smooth. The spire is very short. The whorls are nodulous at the angles. [2]

Species

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Species within the genus Aspa include:

The genus Aspa is known in the fossil record from the Miocene epoch, about 13.65 million years ago. These fossils have been found in the Quaternary of Namibia and Spain, in the Pliocene of Costa Rica, Greece and Spain and in the Miocene of Austria, Greece, Hungary and Italy.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Aspa H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853. WoRMS (2010). Aspa H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.eu/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=463402 on 19 June 2010 .
  2. ^ Adams, H. & Adams, A. (1853-1858). The genera of Recent Mollusca; arranged according to their organization. London, van Voorst. Vol. 1: xl + 484 pp.; vol. 2: 661 pp.; vol. 3: 138 pls
  3. ^ Aspa marginata (Gmelin, 1791). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 19 June 2010.
  4. ^ Fossilworks
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