Paraganitus ellynnae

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Paraganitus ellynnae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
(unranked):
Family:
Genus:
Paraganitus

Challis, 1968 [2]
Species:
P. ellynnae
Binomial name
Paraganitus ellynnae
Challis, 1968

Paraganitus ellynnae is a species of sea slug, an acochlidian, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Microhedylidae.

Contents

Paraganitus ellynnae is the only species in the genus Paraganitus. [1]

Description

Paraganitus ellynnae is smaller than 5 mm and is externally symmetric. [1] It has no shell in adults, and no operculum in adults. [1] It has also no head shield and no posterior shield. [1] It is able to partially retract parts of its anterior body into a temporal visceral cavity. [1] The visceral sac is largely separated from the rest of the body. [1] The mantle is robust. [1] The visceral hump is conical. [1] The tail is short and pointed. [1] The foot is narrow, the anterior foot edge is rounded and it can crawl on the whole foot. [1] It has no mantle cavity. [1] It has elongated/pointed rhinophores. [1] Like all acochlidians, it has oral (= labial) tentacles. [1] Paraganitus ellynnae has long and slightly recurved oral tentacles. [1] Oral tentacle nerves have been present in all examined acochlidians to date, but those nerves were not examined in this species. [1]

Like all acochlidians, it lacks plicate gills. [1] The position of the anus is unknown. [1] It has no calcareous spicules, but it has integumental concrements. [1] It has no keel on the visceral hump. [1]

It has aggregations of precerebral ‘accessory ganglia’. [1] It has no eyes. [1] The presence or absence of Hancock's organ is unknown. [1] It has prepharyngeal CNS as is the case in all other acochlidians. [1]

Ecology

Paraganitus ellynnae is marine and is a mesopsammic species, in other words, these very small slugs live in the interstitial spaces of marine sands. [1]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Schrödl M. & Neusser T. P. (2010). "Towards a phylogeny and evolution of Acochlidia (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158: 124-154. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00544.x.
  2. Challis (1968). Trans. R. Soc. N. Z. (Zool.) 10: 193.