Notobranchaeidae

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Notobranchaeidae
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Euopisthobranchia
Superfamily: Clionoidea
Family: Notobranchaeidae
(Pelseneer, 1886)
Genera and species

See text

The Notobranchaeidae, or "naked sea butterflies", are a taxonomic family of floating sea slugs, specifically under the subclass Opistobranchia, also called "sea angels". [1] [2]

Contents

Similar to other Pteropods, these pelagic marine heterobranch gastropod mollusks [3] are holoplanktonic. [4] [5]

Morphology

While they are not particularly strong swimmers, the foot of these organisms is modified into wing-like structures, called parapodia that they employ for locomotion. [5] Additionally, like other Pteropods of the order Gymnosomata, [6] Notobrachaeidae lack shells entirely as adults. [7] [8] However, they do possess a shell earlier on in their lives. [8] They are also defined by how they possess a posterior gill, strong jaws, grasping tentacles that frequently possess suckers resembling those of cephalopods, and usually buccal cones as well. [9]

Behavior

Like other members of the clade Gymnosomata, Notobrachaeidae are highly specialized holoplanktonic carnivores. [10] In other words, they spend their entire lives hunting in the water column and cannot swim against the column. [10] Also like other members of this clade, Notobrachaeidae feed are very specific prey, with a species in this clade usually specializing in hunting one specific genus of thecosomes, which are also known as "sea butterflies," and form a sister clade to Gymnosomata with the primary difference being how adults of that clade possess shells into adulthood while Gymnosomata do not. [8] [10]

Distribution

Members of this family are found globally throughout the upper reaches of the water column, in the pelagic zone, most commonly the epipelagic zone. [8] Following the trend of Pteropods in general, they tend to have the highest species diversity tropical and subtropical latitudes but are less abundant under these conditions. [8] Conversely, they are more abundant but possess less variety in terms of species closer to the north and south poles. [8] However, even in the tropics, they generally appear in high concentrations, resulting in their frequently playing important roles in planktonic food webs. [4] [5] [11]

Genera and species

Genera and species in the family Notobranchaeidae include:

Genus: Notobranchaea Pelseneer, 1886

Genera brought into synonymy

Related Research Articles

Sea butterfly Suborder of molluscs

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 angel Clade of gastropods

Sea angels are a large group of extremely small, 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.

Limacinidae Family of gastropods

The Limacinidae are a family of small sea snails, pteropods, pelagic marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Thecosomata.

<i>Limacina</i> Genus of gastropods

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.

Cavolinioidea Superfamily of gastropods

The superfamily Cavolinioidea is the most speciose group of sea butterflies. They belong to the suborder Euthecosomata.

Cymbuliidae Family of gastropods

Cymbuliidae is a family of pelagic sea snails or "sea butterflies", marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cymbulioidea.

Clionidae Family of gastropods

The Clionidae are a family of sea angels, which are a group of pelagic marine gastropods.

Pneumodermatidae Family of gastropods

The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata.

Pteropoda Order of molluscs

Pteropoda are specialized free-swimming pelagic sea snails and sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropods. Most live in 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.

<i>Carinaria</i> Genus of gastropods

Carinaria is a genus of medium-sized floating sea snails, pelagic gastropod molluscs in the family Carinariidae.

Peraclidae is a family of pelagic sea snails or "sea butterflies", marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cymbulioidea.

Pterotracheoidea Superfamily of molluscs

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.

Clionoidea Superfamily of gastropods

Clionoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of sea slugs, specifically naked pteropods, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. They are sometimes called "sea angels" or "naked sea butterflies" along with the other superfamily in the Gymnosomata. They can be found anywhere from the surface to a depth of 350 meters. They are transparent and small, with the largest of the species being up to 5 cm.

Cavoliniidae Family of gastropods

The family Cavoliniidae is a taxonomic group of small floating sea snails, pelagic marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks.

Carinaria pseudorugosa is a species of sea gastropod, a holoplanktonic marine gastropod mollusk in the family Carinariidae.

<i>Protatlanta</i> Genus of gastropods

Atlanta is a genus of pelagic marine gastropod molluscs in the family Atlantidae.

<i>Limacina helicina</i> Species of gastropod

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 retroversa is a species of swimming predatory sea snail in the family Limacinidae, that belongs to the group commonly known as sea butterflies (Thecosomata).

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

Hyalocylidae Family of gastropods

The family Hyalocylidae is a taxonomic group of small floating sea snails, pelagic marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks.

References

  1. ↑ Karlsson, Lars. Opisthobranchia: A taxonomic and biological review with emphasis on the families Chromodorididae and Phyllidiidae together with field notes from South East Sulawesi, Indonesia (Undergraduate thesis in biology). University of Linköping.
  2. ↑ Spoel, S. van der; Pafort-Van Iersel, T. (1985). "Note on the taxonomy of the family Notobranchaeidae and description of Notobranchaea bleekerae n. sp., a species new to science (Gastropoda, Pteropoda)". Basteria. 49: 29–36.
  3. ↑ Burridge, Alice; Hörnlein, Christine; Janssen, Arie; Hughes, Martin; Bush, Stephanie; et al. (June 2017). "Time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of pteropods". PLOS ONE. 12 (6): e0177325. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1277325B. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177325 . PMC   5467808 . PMID   28604805. ProQuest   1908757804.
  4. 1 2 Angulo-Campillo, Orso; Aceves-Medina, Gerardo; Avedaño-Ibarra, Raymundo (2011). "Holoplanktonic mollusks (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from the Gulf of California, México". Check List. 7 (3): 337–342. doi: 10.15560/7.3.337 .
  5. 1 2 3 Sanvicente, Laura (2014). "The holoplanktonic Mollusca from the southern Gulf of Mexico Part 2: pteropods". Cahiers de Biologie Marine. 55: 241–258 – via ResearchGate.
  6. ↑ Taylor, D.; Sohl, N. (1962). "An Outline of Gastropod Classification" (PDF). Malacologia. 1 (1): 7–32 – via Native Fish Lab of Marsh & Associates LLC.
  7. ↑ Ossenbrügger, Holgen (2010). "Distribution patterns of pelagic gastropods at the Cape Verde Islands" (PDF). Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pierrot-Bults, Annelies & Peijnenburg, K. (2015). Pteropods. Encyclopedia of marine geosciences. 1-10.
  9. ↑ Spoel, S. van der; Newman, L.; Estep, K. (n.d.). "Family Notobranchaeidae". Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 Lemus, E., Sanvicente-Añorve, L., Hermoso-Salazar, M, Flores-Coto, C. (2014). "The holoplanktonic Mollusca from the southern Gulf of Mexico Part 2: pteropods" (PDF). Cahiers de Biologie Marine. 55: 241–258 – via ResearchGate.
  11. ↑ Ballesteros, M.; Madrenas, E.; Pontes, M. (n.d.). "Gymnosomata". OPK Opistobranquis. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
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