Pteropoda
Encyclopedia
Pteropoda, common name
the pteropods, from the Greek meaning "wing-foot" is a term applied to what are now considered to be two separate taxonomic groups of specialized free-swimming pelagic sea snails and sea slugs, marine
opisthobranch gastropods. The word "Pteropoda" no longer has a scientifically precise use, but the vernacular name "pteropods" is still used sometimes as a convenience.
The word is applied both to the sea butterflies in the clade Thecosomata and also to the sea angels in the clade Gymnosomata. The Thecosomata have a shell, while the Gymnosomata are without a shell. The two clades are in reality not very closely related, despite a superficial similarity, in that they are both pelagic, small and transparent, and both groups swim using wing-like flaps (parapodia) which protrude from their bodies.
as "ptéropodes"in 1804. François Péron
and Charles Alexandre Lesueur
thought the group to be larger and so they also included the opisthobranch taxa (Phyllirhoë and Glaucus
), the heteropoda
taxa (Carinaria
and Firola), and even the Ctenophora (Callianira). In 1810 these authors divided the whole group in two separate groups: those with a shell and those without a shell.
In 1824 Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville
named these two groups Gymnosomata and Thecosomata and named the combining order Aporobranchia instead of Pteropoda. He rejected the additional genera, except Phyllirhoë which he upgraded to a third group that he called Psilosomata. Only much later was Phyllirhoë classified within the order Nudibranchia.
Other attempts were made to describe the Pteropoda. John Edward Gray
divided the Pteropoda into Dactylobranchia (with just the genus Cavolinia ) and Pterobranchia (including all the other genera). Cuvier (and his followers) did not accept the classification by de Blainville; they preferred the original classification as described in Le Règne Animal.
In 1829 Paul Rang followed the Cuvierian classification, but tried to include the character of having a distinct head or not. The German naturalist Lorenz Oken
went one step further and, for the sake of symmetry, wanted each order to contain four families and each family to contain four genera. Pierre André Latreille
divided the Pteropoda according to the size of their fins: "Macroptérygiens" (including only Pneumonoderma) and "Microptérygiens" (including all the others). In 1851 William Bullock Clark
treated the Pteropoda as a family and emended the spelling to Pteropodidae (a name now used for a family of fruit bats
)
Finally all these attempts were abandoned and, as more and more species were described as a result of several scientific expeditions, the classification of the Pteropoda into Thecosomata and Gymnosomata was generally adopted. Many of these new species were first described by French zoologists, for example Jean René Constant Quoy
and Joseph Paul Gaimard
, Paul Rang, Alcide d'Orbigny
and Louis François Auguste Souleyet
.
Because the name "Pteropoda" is not based on a genus, it is no longer available as a family-group name.
.
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...
the pteropods, from the Greek meaning "wing-foot" is a term applied to what are now considered to be two separate taxonomic groups of specialized free-swimming pelagic sea snails and sea slugs, 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...
opisthobranch gastropods. The word "Pteropoda" no longer has a scientifically precise use, but the vernacular name "pteropods" is still used sometimes as a convenience.
The word is applied both to the sea butterflies in the clade Thecosomata and also to the sea angels in the clade Gymnosomata. The Thecosomata have a shell, while the Gymnosomata are without a shell. The two clades are in reality not very closely related, despite a superficial similarity, in that they are both pelagic, small and transparent, and both groups swim using wing-like flaps (parapodia) which protrude from their bodies.
Taxonomy
The group Pteropoda was established by Georges CuvierGeorges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
as "ptéropodes"in 1804. François Péron
François Péron
François Auguste Péron was a French naturalist and explorer. He is credited with the first use of the term anthropology.-Explorations:...
and Charles Alexandre Lesueur
Charles Alexandre Lesueur
Charles Alexandre Lesueur was a French naturalist, artist and explorer.Pictured here is the oil portrait by Charles Willson Peale of Charles-Alexandre Lesueur...
thought the group to be larger and so they also included the opisthobranch taxa (Phyllirhoë and Glaucus
Glaucus
Glaucus is a Greek name. In modern Greek usage, the name is usually transliterated Glafkos. It may refer to:*Glaucus, a sea-god in Greek mythology*Glaucus , a mythical Lycian captain in the Trojan War...
), the heteropoda
Heteropoda
The Heteropoda are a pantropical genus of spiders. There are hundreds of member species.-Species:Heteropoda acuta - Davies, 1994HHeteropoda amphora - Fox, 1936 Heteropoda dagmarae - Jäger & Vedel, 2005...
taxa (Carinaria
Carinaria
Carinaria 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...
and Firola), and even the Ctenophora (Callianira). In 1810 these authors divided the whole group in two separate groups: those with a shell and those without a shell.
In 1824 Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville
Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville
Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville was a French zoologist and anatomist.Blainville was born at Arques, near Dieppe. In about 1796 he went to Paris to study painting, but he ultimately devoted himself to natural history, and attracted the attention of Georges Cuvier, for whom he occasionally...
named these two groups Gymnosomata and Thecosomata and named the combining order Aporobranchia instead of Pteropoda. He rejected the additional genera, except Phyllirhoë which he upgraded to a third group that he called Psilosomata. Only much later was Phyllirhoë classified within the order Nudibranchia.
Other attempts were made to describe the Pteropoda. John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
divided the Pteropoda into Dactylobranchia (with just the genus Cavolinia ) and Pterobranchia (including all the other genera). Cuvier (and his followers) did not accept the classification by de Blainville; they preferred the original classification as described in Le Règne Animal.
In 1829 Paul Rang followed the Cuvierian classification, but tried to include the character of having a distinct head or not. The German naturalist Lorenz Oken
Lorenz Oken
Lorenz Oken was a German naturalist.Oken was born Lorenz Okenfuss in Bohlsbach in Baden and studied natural history and medicine at the universities of Freiburg and Würzburg. He went on to the University of Göttingen, where he became a Privatdozent , and shortened his name to Oken...
went one step further and, for the sake of symmetry, wanted each order to contain four families and each family to contain four genera. Pierre André Latreille
Pierre André Latreille
Pierre André Latreille was a French zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained his freedom after recognising a rare species he found in the prison, Necrobia ruficollis...
divided the Pteropoda according to the size of their fins: "Macroptérygiens" (including only Pneumonoderma) and "Microptérygiens" (including all the others). In 1851 William Bullock Clark
William Bullock Clark
William Bullock Clark, Ph. D., LL.D , was an American geologist.He was born at Brattleboro, Vermont, and educated at Amherst College and in Munich...
treated the Pteropoda as a family and emended the spelling to Pteropodidae (a name now used for a family of fruit bats
Megabat
Megabats constitute the suborder Megachiroptera, family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera . They are also called fruit bats, old world fruit bats, or flying foxes.-Description:...
)
Finally all these attempts were abandoned and, as more and more species were described as a result of several scientific expeditions, the classification of the Pteropoda into Thecosomata and Gymnosomata was generally adopted. Many of these new species were first described by French zoologists, for example Jean René Constant Quoy
Jean René Constant Quoy
Jean René Constant Quoy was a French zoologist.Along with Joseph Paul Gaimard he served as naturalist aboard La Coquille under Louis Isidore Duperrey during its circumnavigation of the globe , and the Astrolabe under the command of Jules Dumont d'Urville...
and Joseph Paul Gaimard
Joseph Paul Gaimard
Joseph Paul Gaimard was a French naval surgeon and naturalist.Along with Jean René Constant Quoy he served as naturalist on the ships L'Uranie under Louis de Freycinet 1817-1820, and L'Astrolabe under Jules Dumont d'Urville 1826-1829...
, Paul Rang, Alcide d'Orbigny
Alcide d'Orbigny
Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology , palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropology....
and Louis François Auguste Souleyet
Louis François Auguste Souleyet
Louis François Auguste Souleyet was a French zoologist, malacologist and naval surgeon.Souleyet was naturalist-surgeon on the voyage of La Bonite, which circumnavigated the globe between February 1836 and November 1837 under Auguste Nicolas Vaillant . In the Pacific he studied marine molluscs...
.
Because the name "Pteropoda" is not based on a genus, it is no longer available as a family-group name.
2010 taxonomy
Jörger et al. (2010) have moved pteropods (pteropods include two clades: Gymnosomata and Thecosomata) to EuopisthobranchiaEuopisthobranchia
Euopisthobranchia is a taxonomic clade of snails and slugs in the clade Heterobranchia within the clade Euthyneura.Euopisthobranchia was established as a new taxon by Jörger et al...
.
External links
- http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=325345
- Report of the Scientific results of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Challenger (1873-1876), Zoology, part LVIII (1887) : Report on the Pteropoda by Paul Pelseneer
- Klussmann-Kolb A. & Dinapoli A. (2006). "Systematic position of the pelagic Thecosomata and Gymnosomata within Opisthobranchia (Mollusca, Gastropoda) – revival of the Pteropoda". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary ResearchJournal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary ResearchJournal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research is a quarterly, peer reviewed, scientific journal, published by Wiley-Blackwell. It was originally established in 1963, then reestablished in 1994 by John Wiley & Sons . The Editor in Chief is Dr. Wilfried Westheide...
44: 118-129. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0469.2006.00351.x.