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Lecithophorus
The ghost nudibranch, ''Lecithophorus capensis'', is a species of dorid nudibranch, and is only found in South Africa. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Polyceridae. It is the sole species of the genus ''Lecithophorus''. Distribution This species is endemic to the South African coast and is found on both sides of the Cape Peninsula from the intertidal to at least 30 m. Description The ghost nudibranch is an almost transparent animal with a deep body and an opaque white margin. Its digestive system is visible as a purple mass in the posterior end of its body. Its rhinophores and gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...s are white.ZSILAVECZ, G. 2007. ''Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay''. Ecology The ghost nudibranch feeds on colonial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Marine Heterobranch Gastropods Of South Africa
The list of marine heterobranch gastropods of South Africa is a list of saltwater mollusc species that form a part of the molluscan fauna of South Africa. This list does not include the land or freshwater molluscs. This is a sub-list of the list of marine gastropods of South Africa, which is in turn a sub-list of the list of marine molluscs of South Africa. Heterobranchia Architectonicidae *Variegated sundial shell '' Heliacus variegatus'' (Gmelin, 1791) (Eastern Cape to Mozambique)Branch, G.M. Griffiths, C.L. Branch, M.L. Beckley, L.E. ''Two Oceans: A guide to the marine life of southern Africa.'' 5th impression, David Philip, Cape Town, 2000. Siphonariidae - False limpets *''Siphonaria annaea'' Tomlin, 1944 (Durban northwards) *Cape False limpet ''Siphonaria capensis'' Quoy and Gaimard (Namibia to northern KwaZulu-Natal) * ''Siphonaria compressa'' Allanson, 1958 *''Siphonaria concinna'' Sowerby, 1824 (Cape Point to Zululand) *'' Siphonaria nigerrima'' Smith, 1903 (Zu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyceridae
The Polyceridae are a taxonomic family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks within the superfamily Polyceroidea. Taxonomy The family Polyceridae is classified within the clade Doridacea, itself belonging to the clade Euctenidiacea within the clade Nudipleura (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). The Polyceridae consists of these subfamilies: * Kalinginae Pruvot-Fol, 1956 * Kankelibranchinae Ortea, Espinosa & Caballer, 2005 * Nembrothinae Burn, 1967 * Polycerinae Alder & Hancock, 1845 - synonyms: Triopinae Gray, 1847, Euphuridae Iredale & O'Donoghue, 1923, Gymnodorididae Odhner, 1941 * Triophinae Odhner, 1941 ** tribe Triophini Odhner, 1941 - synonym: Kaloplocaminae Pruvot-Fol, 1954 ** tribe Limaciini Winckworth, 1951 - synonym: Lailinae Burn, 1967 Genera Genera in the Polyceridae include: * Subfamily Kalinginae Pruvot-Fol, 1956 ** Genus '' Kalinga'' Alder & Hancock, 1864 - type genus in the subfamily Kalin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can reproduction, produce Fertility, fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology (biology), morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. However, only about 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a binomial nomenclature, two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doridacea
''Doridacea'' is a taxonomic grouping of dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. 2005''Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families''.Malacologia: International Journal of Malacology, 47(1-2). ConchBooks: Hackenheim, Germany. . ISSN 0076-2997. 397 pp. included in the clade Euctenidiacea of the clade Nudibranchia. Taxonomy *Superfamily Doridoidea **Family Dorididae **Family Actinocyclidae **Family Chromodorididae **Family Discodorididae *Superfamily Phyllidioidea **Family Phyllidiidae **Family Dendrodorididae **Family Mandeliidae *Superfamily Onchidoridoidea (= Phanerobranchiata Suctoria) **Family Akiodorididae **Family Calycidorididae **Family Goniodorididae **Family Onchidorididae **Family Corambidae *Superfamily Polyceroidea (= Phanerobranchiata Non Suctoria) **Family Polyceridae **Family Aegiridae - In Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) Aegiretidae is an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nudibranch
Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to match, such as "clown", "marigold", "splendid", "dancer", "dragon", or "sea rabbit". Currently, about 3,000 valid species of nudibranchs are known.Ocean Portal (2017)A Collage of Nudibranch Colors Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 17 April 2018. The word "nudibranch" comes from the Latin "naked" and the Ancient Greek () " gills". Nudibranchs are often casually called sea slugs, as they are a family of opistobranchs (sea slugs), within the phylum Mollusca (molluscs), but many sea slugs belong to several taxonomic groups which are not closely related to nudibranchs. A number of these other sea slugs, such as the photosynthetic '' Sacoglossa'' and the colourful Aglajidae, are often confused with nudibranchs. Dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine (ocean)
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the world ocean is conventionally divided."Ocean." ''Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary'', Merriam-Webster, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. There are many thousands of species of sea snails and slugs, as well as freshwater snails, freshwater limpets, and land snails and slugs. The class Gastropoda contains a vast total of named species, second only to the insects in overall number. The fossil history of this class goes back to the Late Cambrian. , 721 families of gastropods are known, of which 245 are extinct and appear only in the fossil record, while 476 are currently extant with or without a fossil record. Gastropoda (previously known as univalves and sometimes spelled "Gasteropoda") are a major part of the phylum Mollusca, and are the most highly diversified class in the phylum, with 65,000 to 80,000 living snail and slug species. The anatomy, behavior, feeding, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 additional species. The proportion of undescribed species is very high. Many taxa remain poorly studied. Molluscs are the largest marine phylum, comprising about 23% of all the named marine organisms. Numerous molluscs also live in freshwater and terrestrial habitats. They are highly diverse, not just in size and anatomical structure, but also in behaviour and habitat. The phylum is typically divided into 7 or 8 taxonomic classes, of which two are entirely extinct. Cephalopod molluscs, such as squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses, are among the most neurologically advanced of all invertebrates—and either the giant squid or the colossal squid is the largest known invertebrate species. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". What belongs to a family—or if a described family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no hard rules for describing or recognizing a family, but in plants, they can be characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions, and there may be no broad consensus across the scientific community for some time. The publishing of new data and opi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example ''Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. ''Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinophore
A rhinophore is one of a pair of chemosensory club-shaped, rod-shaped or ear-like structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy in sea slugs, marine gastropod opisthobranch mollusks such as the nudibranchs, sea hares ( Aplysiomorpha), and sap-sucking sea slugs ( Sacoglossa). Etymology The name relates to the rhinophore's function as an organ of "smell". ''Rhino-'' means nose from Ancient Greek ῥίς ''rhis'' and from its genitive ῥινός ''rhinos''. "Phore" means "to bear" from New Latin ''-phorus'' and from Greek -phoros (φορος) "bearing", a derivative of ''phérein'' (φέρειν). Function Rhinophores are scent or taste receptors, also known as chemosensory organs situated on the dorsal surface of the head. They are primarily used for distance chemoreception and rheoreception (response to water current). The "scents" detected by rhinophores are chemicals dissolved in the sea water. The fine structure and hairs of the rh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gill
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist. The microscopic structure of a gill presents a large surface area to the external environment. Branchia (pl. branchiae) is the zoologists' name for gills (from Ancient Greek ). With the exception of some aquatic insects, the filaments and lamellae (folds) contain blood or coelomic fluid, from which gases are exchanged through the thin walls. The blood carries oxygen to other parts of the body. Carbon dioxide passes from the blood through the thin gill tissue into the water. Gills or gill-like organs, located in different parts of the body, are found in various groups of aquatic animals, including mollusks, crustaceans, insects, fish, and amphibians. Semiterrestrial marine animals such as crabs and mudskippers have gill ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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