Gastropteridae

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Gastropteridae
Siphopteron quadrispinosum copulating.png
Mating pair of Siphopteron quadrispinosum
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Clade: Euopisthobranchia
Order: Cephalaspidea
Superfamily: Philinoidea
Family: Gastropteridae
Swainson, 1840 [1]
Synonyms

Gasteropteridae (misspelling) [1]

Gastropteridae, the bat-winged slugs, is a family of sea slugs, gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Philinoidea of the clade Cephalaspidea, the headshield slugs and bubble snails. [2] The greatest diversity of these colourful small slugs is in the tropical and sub-tropical Indo-Pacific region.

Contents

Description

Gastropteridae is a fairly diverse family containing four genera and thirty-three described species. Adults have an internal reduced shell or no shell at all. The body is fairly short, usually under 10 mm (0.4 in) in length, but exceptionally up to 35 mm (1.4 in). [3] Compared to the closely related philinids and the aglajids, the mantle cavity is small, and the gills are located further forward, in an exposed position. In most species, the hind end of the headshield is narrowed, raised and curved forward, sometimes being further forward than the front edge of the head. A radula is present, but no jaws. These slugs are mostly brightly coloured and distinctively patterned. [4]

Gastropterids have parapodia (large outgrowths from the mantle wall) and can swim by flapping these, which has led to them being referred to as "bat-winged slugs". The nervous system has a well-developed brain and these slugs exhibit various elaborate behavioural traits. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Most gastropterids are found in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the Indo-Pacific region. Most species have been described since the middle of the twentieth century and there are many undescribed species. Gastropteron is the only genus with a presence in the Atlantic Ocean. [3]

Ecology

The ecology of gastropterids has been little studied, but most Sagaminopteron species have been observed to feed on sponges that do not contain spicules. [3] At least some Siphopteron species are found on macroalgae and seagrasses. [4]

Gastroperids are simultaneous hermaphrodites. [5] Siphopteron species have a complex mating behaviour, with each of two slugs attempting to use spines for hypodermic insemination of the other one. [3] This is the case in Siphopteron quadrispinosum , where each slug attempts to inject prostate fluid into the other having stabbed it with a stylet, part of a two-pronged penis. [5] The two slugs circle clockwise around each other, each probing and attempting to pierce the underside of the other with the stylet while avoiding getting pierced itself. When one or both is successful, the penis is thrust into the other slug's gonopore, where further spines hold it in place, and mating takes place. Copulation may be reciprocal or only one slug may be successful. [6]

Genera

The following genera are recognised by the World Register of Marine Species: [1]

Related Research Articles

Cephalaspidea Order of gastropods

The clade Cephalaspidea, also known as the headshield slugs and bubble snails, is a major taxon of sea slugs and bubble snails, marine gastropod mollusks within the larger clade Euopisthobranchia. Bubble shells is another common name for these families of marine gastropods, some of which have thin bubble-like shells. This clade contains more than 600 species.

Love dart Darts that some snails shoot into each other during mating

A love dart is a sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. Love darts are both formed and stored internally in a dart sac. These darts are made in sexually mature animals only, and are used as part of the sequence of events during courtship, before actual mating takes place. Darts are quite large compared to the size of the animal: in the case of the semi-slug genus Parmarion, the length of a dart can be up to one fifth that of the semi-slug's foot.

<i>Goniobranchus coi</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus coi is a species of very colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus preciosus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus preciosus is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Nembrotha cristata</i> Species of gastropod

Nembrotha cristata is a species of colourful sea slug, a polycerid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae. This species of sea slug is black with green markings; adults are around 50 mm in length, and they live on rock or coral reefs in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean.

<i>Chromodoris joshi</i> Species of gastropod

Chromodoris joshi is a species of sea slug. It is a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Philinopsis</i> Genus of gastropods

Philiopsis is a genus of often colorful, medium-sized sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks. These are not nudibranchs; instead they are headshield slugs, in the clade Cephalaspidea.

<i>Chromodoris aspersa</i> Species of gastropod

Chromodoris aspersa is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

Goniobranchus kitae is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

Goniobranchus galactos is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus gleniei</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus gleniei is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus fidelis</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus fidelis, also commonly known as the faithful sea slug, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus roboi</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus roboi, common name the tooth-edged chromodoris, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. This species was transferred from Chromodoris to Goniobranchus in 2012.

<i>Goniobranchus vibratus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus vibratus, common name trembling nudibranch, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus tumuliferus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus tumuliferus is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus sinensis</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus sinensis is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

Goniobranchus cazae is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Goniobranchus reticulatus</i> Species of gastropod

Goniobranchus reticulatus is a species of colourful sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.

<i>Siphopteron quadrispinosum</i>

Siphopteron quadrispinosum is a species of small sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc in the order Cephalaspidea, the headshield slugs. This slug is a simultaneous hermaphrodite.

<i>Gastropteron</i> Genus of gastropods

Gastropteron is a genus of small colorful sea slugs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Gastropteridae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bouchet, Philippe (2015). "Gastropteridae: Swainson, 1840". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Bouchet, P.; Rocroi, J.-P. (2005). "Classification and Nomenclator of Gastropod Families". Malacologia. 47 (1–2).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Ong, Elise; Hallas, Joshua M.; Gosliner, Terrence M. (2017). "Like a bat out of heaven: the phylogeny and diversity of the bat-winged slugs (Heterobranchia: Gastropteridae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 180 (4): 755–789. doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlw018 .
  4. 1 2 Burn, Robert (2015). Nudibranchs and Related Molluscs. Museum Victoria. pp. 60–61. ISBN   978-1-921833-08-3.
  5. 1 2 Anthes, Nils; Michiels, Nico K (2007). "Precopulatory stabbing, hypodermic injections and unilateral copulations in a hermaphroditic sea slug". Biology Letters. 3 (2): 121–124. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0596. PMC   2375930 . PMID   17251120.
  6. ↑ Heller, Joseph (2015). Sea Snails: A natural history. Springer. pp. 213–214. ISBN   978-3-319-15452-7.

Further reading

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