Rhodope (gastropod)

Rhodope
A specimen of Rhodope veranii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Infraclass:	Mesoneura
Superfamily:	Rhodopoidea
Family:	Rhodopidae
Genus:	Rhodope Koelliker, 1847
Type species
Rhodope veranii Koelliker, 1847 (monotypy)
Synonyms [1]
SidoniaSchulze, 1854

Rhodope is a genus of small meiofaunal sea slugs, shell-less vermiform gastropod mollusks in the family Rhodopidae. Their worm-like body structure differs considerably from typical gastropods, to the point of being mistaken for flatworms in the past. ^[2]

Feeding habits

Rhodopids are the only known predators of placozoans, which make up the primary component of their diet. ^[3] Some species of Rhodope, such as Rhodope placozophagus , can subsist entirely on a diet of placozoans, and are apparently immune to their toxins. ^[4]

Species

Species in the genus Rhodope include: ^[1]

• Rhodope crucispiculata Salvini-Plawen, 1991
• Rhodope marcusi Salvini-Plawen, 1991
• Rhodope placozophagus Cuervo-González, 2017
• Rhodope roskoi Haszprunar & Hess, 2005
• Rhodope rousei Brenzinger, N. G. Wilson & Schrödl, 2011
• Rhodope salviniplaweni Fernández-Simón & Moles, 2025
• Rhodope transtrosa Salvini-Plawen, 1991
• Rhodope veranii Koelliker, 1847

References

1. "MolluscaBase - Rhodope Koelliker, 1847". www.molluscabase.org. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
2. Brenzinger, Bastian; Haszprunar, Gerhard; Schrödl, Michael (2013). "At the limits of a successful body plan - 3D microanatomy, histology and evolution of Helminthope (Mollusca: Heterobranchia: Rhodopemorpha), the most worm-like gastropod". Frontiers in Zoology. 10 (1): 37. doi: 10.1186/1742-9994-10-37 . ISSN   1742-9994. PMC   3704743 . PMID   23809165.
3. Eitel, Michael; Osigus, Hans‐Jürgen; Brenzinger, Bastian; Wörheide, Gert (2024). "Beauty in the beast – Placozoan biodiversity explored through molluscan predator genomics". Ecology and Evolution. 14 (4). doi:10.1002/ece3.11220. ISSN   2045-7758. PMC   11007570 .
4. Cuervo-González, Rodrigo (2017). "Rhodope placozophagus (Heterobranchia) a new species of turbellarian-like Gastropoda that preys on placozoans". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 270: 43–48. doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2017.09.005. ISSN   0044-5231.