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Carinariidae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carinariidae
Some examples of Carinariidae from "Atlas Zoologique du Voyage de la corvette La Bonite (1845–1852)"
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Pterotracheoidea
Family: Carinariidae
Blainville, 1818
Genera

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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

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The snails of this family occur worldwide in the pelagic zone of tropical to subtropical seas. floating or swimming by moving up and down the fin-shaped front part of their foot.

Feeding habits

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They feed on jellyfish, larvae of other snails and on zooplankton.

Anatomy

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The cylindrical body of these snails can be divided in three regions: the proboscis, 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.

Taxonomy

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The following two subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005):

  • Carinariinae Blainville, 1818 – synonym: Pterosomatidae, Rang, 1829
  • † Brunoniinae Dieni, 1990

Genera

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Genera within the family Carinariidae include:

Carinariinae

† Brunoniinae

  • Brunonia G. Müller, 1898 – type genus of the subfamily Brunoniinae

References

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  • "Carinariidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  • Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
  • Seapy, Roger R. 2007. Carinariidae Blainville 1818. Version 5 December 2007 in The Tree of Life Web Project
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