Firoloida desmarestia | |
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Genus: | Firoloida Lesueur, 1817 [1] |
Species: | F. desmarestia |
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Firoloida desmarestia | |
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Firoloida is a monotypic genus of pelagic marine gastropod mollusc in the family Pterotracheidae, with the only species in the genus being Firoloida desmarestia. This shell-less mollusc is found in tropical and sub-tropical waters in the epipelagic zone of the world's oceans.
Both genus and species were first described in 1817 by the French artist and naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur. He named the species in honour of the French zoologist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest but made an error in spelling the specific name and called the mollusc F. demarestia. Subsequent authors corrected this to F. desmarestia, but according to the rules of precedence of scientific names, the misspelling should stand. However the ICZN determined that F. desmarestia was preferable and substituted it for the original name. [2]
Firoloida desmarestia has a proboscis, a long, transparent cylindrical body and a short, ventral tail. It has a large, rounded swimming fin, situated towards the front of the mollusc, and the opaque visceral nucleus, a mass which includes the liver, heart, gonad, sexual glands and kidneys, at the rear. Males have a sucker on the front edge of the fin, large tentacles in front of the eyes, and a tail filament, while females lack the sucker and tentacles, and have a string of eggs trailing behind them. [3]
Firoloida desmarestia is found in warm oceanic waters and is of cosmopolitan distribution. It has been collected from the upper 145 metres (476 ft) of the sea and it seems to be uncommon in the north Central Atlantic Ocean, more plentiful in the Indian Ocean and rare in the northern Pacific Ocean around Hawaii. [3]
The sexes are separate in Firoloida desmarestia. A string of eggs in varying stages of development trail behind the female. Newly fertilised eggs are close to the visceral nucleus while veliger larvae, complete with a shell of two whorls and a rounded aperture, are at the far end and eventually become detached. All stages of this mollusc are planktonic. [3]
Desmopteridae is a family of pelagic sea snails or "sea butterflies", marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cymbulioidea.
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The Trochidae, common name top-snails or top-shells, are a taxonomic family of very small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Vetigastropoda.
Melongena is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Melongenidae, the crown conches and their allies.
Atlanta is a genus of pelagic marine gastropod molluscs in the family Atlantidae. They are sometimes called heteropods.
Carinaria is a genus of medium-sized floating sea snails, pelagic gastropod molluscs in the family Carinariidae.
Limaria, the file shells or file clams, is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs in the family Limidae.
The Pterotracheoidea is, according to the Taxonomy of the Gastropoda, a taxonomic superfamily of sea snails or sea slugs, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha. They are commonly called heteropods or sea elephants.
Epidendrium billeeanum, commonly known as the Yellow sea snail or the Golden wentletrap, is a species of small predator and ectoparasite sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Epitoniidae, the wentletraps.
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Calliactis tricolor, the tricolor anemone or hitchhiking anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Hormathiidae. It occurs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It can be found attached to rocks but is often attached to a living crab or mollusc or an empty shell occupied by a hermit crab.
Abralia veranyi is a species of squid in the family Enoploteuthidae. Common names include the eye-flash squid, Verany's enope squid and the midwater squid. It is found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It undergoes a daily vertical migration from deep waters to near the surface.
Carinaria cristata, commonly known as the glassy nautilus, is a species of pelagic marine gastropod mollusc in the family Carinariidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean and is described as being holoplanktonic, because it spends its entire life as part of the plankton. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1767. Its fragile shell was much prized by early conchologists for their collections, being so rare that it was said to be worth more than its weight in gold.
Carinaria galea, common name the helmeted carinaria, is a species of sea snail, a marine pelagic marine gastropod mollusc in the family Carinariidae. It was first described in 1835 by William Henry Benson, an amateur malacologist in the Bengal Civil Service.
Ornithoteuthis antillarum, the Atlantic bird squid, is a species of flying squid from the family Ommastrephidae which is found in the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This species is an important component of the diet of many species of fish and of cetaceans. It is taken as a bycatch in fisheries but has the potential to be commercially important if appropriate fishing methods can be developed.
Ornithoteuthis volatilis, the shiny bird squid, is a squid from the subfamily Ommastrephinae, the flying squids, of the family Ommastrephidae part of the pelagic squid order Oegopsida. It is a tropical and sub-tropical species which is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific oceans. It is slightly larger than the closely related species Ornithoteuthis antillarum of the Atlantic Ocean.
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Octopus tehuelchus, commonly known as the Patagonian octopus, is a species of octopus, a marine cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. It is native to shallow waters in the subtropical southwestern Atlantic Ocean. It was first described in 1834 by the French naturalist Alcide d'Orbigny.
Astrapogon stellatus is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Apogonidae, the cardinal fishes. It lives in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It is commonly known as the conchfish because it typically conceals itself in the mantle cavity of a living queen conch by day.