Ebala
Encyclopedia
Ebala is a genus
of sea snail
s, marine
gastropod mollusks in the family Murchisonellidae
.
Members of the genus Ebala are small (<4 mm) gastropods, the shells of which have a sinistral
protoconch
. The shell is transparent, sometimes with opaque spots. In contrast to most of the families in the Pyramidelloidea
, they do possess a radula
. They are found in tropical to temperate waters, often associated with sea grass beds (e.g. Posedonia and Zostera
).
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
s, 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 mollusks in the family Murchisonellidae
Murchisonellidae
Murchisonellidae is a taxonomic family of sea snails, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Pyramidelloidea.- 1999 taxonomy :...
.
Members of the genus Ebala are small (<4 mm) gastropods, the shells of which have a sinistral
Sinistral
Sinistral and dextral are scientific terms that describe chirality or relative direction in a number of disciplines.The terms are derived from the Latin words for “left” and “right” ....
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...
. The shell is transparent, sometimes with opaque spots. In contrast to most of the families in the Pyramidelloidea
Pyramidelloidea
Pyramidelloidea is a superfamily of mostly very small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks and micromollusks within the clade Panpulmonata.This is a voluminous taxon: above the species level close to 400 named taxa are referred to this gastropod superfamily.Pyramidelloidea has both fossil and...
, they do possess a 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...
. They are found in tropical to temperate waters, often associated with sea grass beds (e.g. Posedonia and Zostera
Zostera
Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrass, commonly called marine eelgrass or simply eelgrass . The genus Zostera contains sixteen species.-Ecology:Zostera is found on sandy substrates or in estuaries submerged or partially floating...
).
Species
Species within the genus Ebala include:- Ebala communis Bandel, 2005
- Ebala gradata (Monterosato, 1878)
- Ebala nitidissima (Montagu, 1803)
- Ebala pointeli (de Folin, 1868)
- Ebala striatula (Jeffreys, 1856)
- Ebala trigonostoma (de Folin, 1872)