Rhodope veranii

Rhodope veranii
A specimen of Rhodope veranii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Family:	Rhodopidae
Genus:	Rhodope
Species:	R. veranii
Binomial name
Rhodope veranii Koelliker, 1847
Synonyms [1]
Rhodope veranyi(misspelling) Sidonia elegansSchulze, 1854

Rhodope veranii is a species of small meiofaunal sea slug, a shell-less vermiform gastropod mollusk in the family Rhodopidae. Its worm-like body structure differs considerably from typical gastropods, to the point of being mistaken for a flatworm in the past. ^[2] It is the type species of the genus Rhodope . ^[1]

Feeding habits

Rhodopids are the only known predators of placozoans, which make up the primary component of their diet. ^[3]

References

1. "MolluscaBase - Rhodope veranii Koelliker, 1847". www.molluscabase.org. Retrieved 23 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 .