Carinariidae
Encyclopedia
Carinariidae, known by the common name
"heteropods" like their relatives in the Pterotracheoidea
, is a taxonomic family
of swimming or floating sea snail
s, pelagic marine
gastropod molluscs in the clade
Littorinimorpha
.
of tropical to subtropical seas. floating or swimming by moving up and down the fin-shaped front part of their foot.
, the trunk and the tail region. The body is elongated and much longer than the reduced shell. But in Pterosoma the trunk is wider and is somewhat disc-shaped. The taenioglossan radula
has seven teeth in each row: one central tooth, flanked on each side by one lateral and two marginal teeth. The central tooth has three central cusps and on each side a
large process backing away from the center. The lateral teeth terminate in a sharp point.
The protoconch
in the adult shell of Carinaria and Pterosoma is located at the apex.
:
Carinariinae
† Brunoniinae
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
"heteropods" like their relatives in the Pterotracheoidea
Pterotracheoidea
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.- Taxonomy :This superfamily comprises four families The...
, is a taxonomic family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of swimming or floating sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
s, pelagic marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod molluscs in the clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
Littorinimorpha
Littorinimorpha
Littorinimorpha is a large clade of gastropods within Hypsogastropoda consisting primarily of marine species, but also aquatic and terrestrial species as well....
.
Distribution
The snails of this family occur worldwide in the pelagic zonePelagic zone
Any water in a sea or lake that is not close to the bottom or near to the shore can be said to be in the pelagic zone. The word pelagic comes from the Greek πέλαγος or pélagos, which means "open sea". The pelagic zone can be thought of in terms of an imaginary cylinder or water column that goes...
of tropical to subtropical seas. floating or swimming by moving up and down the fin-shaped front part of their foot.
Anatomy
The cylindrical body of these snails can be divided in three regions: the proboscisProboscis
A proboscis is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In simpler terms, a proboscis is the straw-like mouth found in several varieties of species.-Etymology:...
, the trunk and the tail region. The body is elongated and much longer than the reduced shell. But in Pterosoma the trunk is wider and is somewhat disc-shaped. The taenioglossan radula
Radula
The radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...
has seven teeth in each row: one central tooth, flanked on each side by one lateral and two marginal teeth. The central tooth has three central cusps and on each side a
large process backing away from the center. The lateral teeth terminate in a sharp point.
The protoconch
Protoconch
A protoconch is an embryonic or larval shell of some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod...
in the adult shell of Carinaria and Pterosoma is located at the apex.
Taxonomy
The following two subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)Taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005)
The taxonomy of the Gastropoda as it was revised by Philippe Bouchet and Jean-Pierre Rocroi is currently the most up-to-date overall system for classifying gastropod mollusks...
:
- Carinariinae Blainville, 1818 - synonym: Pterosomatidae, Rang, 1829
- † Brunoniinae Dieni, 1990
Genera
Genera witin the family Carinariidae include:Carinariinae
- CardiapodaCardiapodaCardiapoda is a genus of very small floating sea snails or heteropods, pelagic gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs in the family Carinariidae.Both tentacles are of equal size and well-developed...
D'OrbignyAlcide d'OrbignyAlcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology , palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropology....
, 1835 - CarinariaCarinariaCarinaria is a genus of medium-sized floating sea snails, pelagic gastropod molluscs in the family Carinariidae.- Anatomy :The cylindrical and elongate body consists of three parts : a short proboscis, a well-developed trunk and tail region of variable size. The size of this tail goes from very...
Lamarck, 1801 - Pterosoma Lesson, 1827 - the only one species: Pterosoma planum R. P. Lesson, 1827
† Brunoniinae
- † Brunonia G. Müller, 1898 - type genus of the subfamily Brunoniinae