| Clione okhotensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Clade: | Euopisthobranchia |
| Family: | Clionidae |
| Genus: | Clione |
| Species: | C. okhotensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Clione okhotensis Yamazaki & Kuwahara, 2017 | |
Clione okhotensis is a species of sea angel, a pelagic marine gastropod (sea slug) in the family Clionidae. [1]
The only known localities of Clione okhotensis are in the southern Sea of Okhotsk [2] and the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench area [3] in the western Pacific Ocean. It has been found at depths of 0.3 to 1.5 m (1 ft 0 in to 4 ft 11 in) below the surface of the water. Its distribution overlaps with those of C. limacina and C. elegantissima , two separate species of the same genus found in the North Pacific. [3] [4]
Clione okhotensis only reaches up to 0.8 cm (0.3 in) in body length, making the species substantially smaller than most other Clione species, such as C. limacina, which has a body length of up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in comparison. The species is considered paedomorphic, as adults retain many juvenile characteristics upon maturing. [2] As a result, Clione okhotensis strongly resemble and were previously mistaken for juvenile C. limacina. [3]
Like all Clione species, Clione okhotensis is characterized by a translucent body revealing a bright orange-red visceral mass that occupies much of the upper middle body. Its mouth is represented by a radula with buccal cones and chitinous hooks for predation. [5] Although most Clione species utilize buccal cones for predation, the buccal cones of Clione okhotensis are much smaller than those of other species and are not utilized in predatorial behavior. [2]
Clione okhotensis inhabits cold, shallow waters of the Sea of Okhotsk. It is a specialized predator of Limacina helicina, a species of sea snail. [2] Like C. limacina, it utilizes chitinous hooks to secure its prey and swallow it whole. [5] Although its buccal cones are unused in predation, they are still visibly retracted and extended during attempt behavior. [2] During searching behavior, it excretes a sticky fluid and swims with its body elongated and stretched out, characteristics of predatorial behavior that are uniquely not present in C. limacina. [2] A known predator of Clione species is the pink salmon. [6] Though the direct effects of global warming on Clione okhotensis have yet to be evaluated, its populations could be negatively impacted by a decline in the populations of its primary prey, Limacina helicina, which is extremely vulnerable to ocean acidification due to its aragonitic (calcium carbonate) shell. [6] [7]
Sea butterflies, scientific name Thecosomata, are a taxonomic suborder of small pelagic swimming sea snails. They are holoplanktonic opisthobranch gastropod mollusks. Most Thecosomata have some form of calcified shell, although it is often very light and / or transparent.
Sea angels are a large group of small free-swimming sea slugs, not to be confused with Cnidarians, classified into six different families. They are pelagic opisthobranchs in the clade Gymnosomata within the larger mollusc clade Heterobranchia. Sea angels were previously referred to as a type of pteropod.
Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails that over evolutionary time have either completely lost their shells, or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a greatly reduced or internal shell. The name "sea slug" is most often applied to nudibranchs, as well as to a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without obvious shells.
The Limacinidae are a family of small sea snails, pteropods, pelagic marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Thecosomata.
Limacina is a genus of swimming predatory sea snails commonly known as sea butterflies in the family Limacinidae. This genus contains some of the world's most abundant gastropod species.
The Notobranchaeidae, or "naked sea butterflies", are a taxonomic family of floating sea slugs, specifically under the subclass Opistobranchia, also called "sea angels".
The Hydromylidae are monotypic family of small sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the suborder Gymnosomata, the sea angels.
Clione is a genus of small, floating sea slugs, pelagic marine gastropod mollusks in the family Clionidae, the sea angels.
Paedoclione doliiformis is a species of sea angel, a small floating sea slug, a pelagic marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clionidae.
Pteropoda are specialized free-swimming pelagic sea snails and sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropods. Most live in the top 10 m of the ocean and are less than 1 cm long. The monophyly of Pteropoda is the subject of a lengthy debate; they have even been considered as paraphyletic with respect to cephalopods. Current consensus, guided by molecular studies, leans towards interpreting the group as monophyletic.
Glaucus atlanticus is a species of small, blue sea slug, a pelagic (open-ocean) aeolid nudibranch, a shell-less gastropod mollusk in the family Glaucidae.
Clione limacina, known as the naked sea butterfly, sea angel, and common clione, is a sea angel found from the surface to greater than 500 m (1,600 ft) depth. It lives in the Arctic Ocean and cold regions of the North Atlantic Ocean. It was first described by Friderich Martens in 1676 and became the first gymnosomatous "pteropod" to be described.
Diplulmaris antarctica is a species of Antarctic jellyfish in the family Ulmaridae.
Limacina helicina is a species of small swimming planktonic sea snail in the family Limacinidae, which belong to the group commonly known as sea butterflies (Thecosomata).
Limacina rangii is a species of swimming sea snail in the family Limacinidae, which belong to the group commonly known as sea butterflies (Thecosomata).
Clione antarctica is a species of "sea angel", a sea slug, a pelagic marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clionidae, the "sea angels".
Limacina retroversa is a distinct species of swimming planktonic gastropods, belonging to a group of predatory sea snails known as sea butterflies (Thecosomata). The name Limacina retroversa describes the unique morphology of this sea snail, including its slug-like body and coiled, backwards-turning shell. They are typically found in the epipelagic zone of cold, polar waters, but can be found worldwide, in any ocean. L. retroversa are currently under threat, as their numbers are decreasing due to rising global carbon levels and other human-caused climate threats.
The genus Clio is a taxonomic group of small floating sea snails, pelagic marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks, the sole genus belonging to the family Cliidae
Clione elegantissima is a species of sea angel in the family Clionidae.