''Titiscania'' is a genus of slug-like

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

s, shell-less marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s in the superfamily

Neritopsoidea Neritopsoidea is a taxonomic grouping, a superfamily of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Cycloneritimorpha, within the clade Neritimorpha, (according to Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005), or in the order Neritoina within superorder Cycl ...

.Bouchet, P. (2015). Titiscania. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=225430 on 2016-01-20 ''Titiscania'' is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

and also the only genus in the family Titiscaniidae. The original vernacular spelling "Die Titiscanien" by

Rudolph Bergh Rudolph Bergh (15 October 1824 – 20 July 1909), full name Ludvig Sophus Rudolph Bergh, was a Danish physician and malacologist. He worked in Copenhagen. As a doctor his speciality was sexually transmitted diseases. In Copenhagen a hospital a ...

(1890) was Latinized by

Johannes Thiele Johannes Thiele may refer to: *Johannes Thiele (zoologist) *Johannes Thiele (chemist) {{hndis, Thiele, Johannes ...

in 1891. Excepting some parasitic forms, ''Titiscania'' is the only genus of gastropod outside of the

Heterobranchia Heterobranchia, the heterobranchs (meaning "different gill"), is a taxonomic clade of snails and slugs, which includes marine, aquatic, and terrestrial gastropod molluscs. Heterobranchia is one of the main clades of gastropods. Currently Het ...

to have secondarily lost its mineralized

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

, which it sheds after its larval phase. When disturbed a bluish white, thread-like substance is discharged through defensive glands in the form of about 12 densely placed white papillae on both sides of the back.

Species

Species within the genus ''Titiscania'' include: * ''

Titiscania limacina ''Titiscania'' is a genus of slug-like sea snails, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Neritopsoidea.Bouchet, P. (2015). Titiscania. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.m ...

'' Bergh, 1890 * ''

Titiscania shinkishihataii ''Titiscania'' is a genus of slug-like sea snails, shell-less marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Neritopsoidea.Bouchet, P. (2015). Titiscania. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species ...

'' Taki, 1955Bouchet, P. (2010). ''Titiscania shinkishihataii'' Taki, 1955. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=532066 on 2011-03-26

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18519168 Titiscaniidae