Pterotracheidae
Encyclopedia
Pterotracheidae is a family
of medium-sized to large floating sea snail
s, pelagic gastropod molluscs. They are in the superfamily
Pterotracheoidea
along with two other similar pelagic families, the Atlantidae
and the Carinariidae
.
These pelagic snails are not at all closely related to the pelagic heterobranch
opistobranchs such as the sea angel
s and sea butterflies. They are in the clade Littorinimorpha, and as such they are related to such families as the tritons (Ranellidae
) and the tun shells (Tonnidae
), in the clade Caenogastropoda
.
According to taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)
the family Pterotracheidae has no subfamilies.
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 medium-sized to large floating sea snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, pelagic gastropod molluscs. They are in the superfamily
Taxonomic rank
In biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
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...
along with two other similar pelagic families, the Atlantidae
Atlantidae
Atlantidae is a family of sea snails, holoplanktonic gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha.According to taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi the family Atlantidae has no subfamilies.- Description :...
and the Carinariidae
Carinariidae
Carinariidae, known by the common name "heteropods" like their relatives in the Pterotracheoidea, is a taxonomic family of swimming or floating sea snails, pelagic marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha.- Distribution :...
.
These pelagic snails are not at all closely related to the pelagic heterobranch
Heterobranchia
Heterobranchia, the heterobranchs or Euthyneura, is a taxonomic clade of snails and slugs, which includes species from the sea, the land and freshwater; marine, aquatic and terrestrial gastropod mollusks....
opistobranchs such as the sea angel
Sea angel
Sea angels previously known as one kind of pteropod, are a large group of small swimming sea slugs in six different families. These are pelagic marine opisthobranch gastropod molluscs in the clade Gymnosomata within the larger clade Heterobranchia....
s and sea butterflies. They are in the clade Littorinimorpha, and as such they are related to such families as the tritons (Ranellidae
Ranellidae
Ranellidae, common name the triton shells or tritons, is a taxonomic family of small to very large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Littorinimorpha.-Subfamilies:...
) and the tun shells (Tonnidae
Tonnidae
Tonnidae is a family of medium-sized to very large sea snails, known as the tun shells. These are marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha and the clade Littorinimorpha.- Taxonomy :...
), in the clade Caenogastropoda
Caenogastropoda
Caenogastropoda is a taxonomic clade of a large diverse group of mostly marine gastropods.Caenogastropoda contains a majority of the families of shelled marine molluscs including such families as the periwinkles, cowries, wentletraps, moon snails, and cone snails.About 60% of all living gastropods...
.
According to taxonomy of the Gastropoda by 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...
the family Pterotracheidae has no subfamilies.
Genera
Genera within the family Pterotracheidae include:- Firoloida LesueurCharles Alexandre LesueurCharles Alexandre Lesueur was a French naturalist, artist and explorer.Pictured here is the oil portrait by Charles Willson Peale of Charles-Alexandre Lesueur...
, 1817 - PterotracheaPterotracheaPterotrachea is a taxonomic genus of medium-sized to large floating sea slugs, marine pelagic gastropod molluscs in the family Pterotracheidae, which is in the infraorder Littorinimorpha...
ForsskålPeter ForsskålPeter Forsskål, sometimes spelled Pehr Forsskål, Peter Forskaol, Petrus Forskål or Pehr Forsskåhl, was a Swedish explorer, orientalist, naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus.-Early life:...
, 1775
External links
- Tree of Life: Pterotracheidae
- Powell A. W. B.Arthur William Baden PowellDr Arthur William Baden Powell CBE was a New Zealand malacologist, naturalist and palaeontologist, a major influence in the study and classification of New Zealand molluscs through much of the twentieth century. He was known to his friends and family by his third name, "Baden".Powell was born at...
, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers LtdHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1