''Amblychilepas'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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, 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

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Fissurellidae Fissurellidae, common name the keyhole limpets and slit limpets, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized limpet-like sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Vetigastropoda.Rosenberg, G. (2012). Fissurellidae. Accessed throu ...

, the keyhole limpets.

Distribution

The species from this genus can be found in temperate waters of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, except ''Amblychilepas platyactis'' that is found along the Atlantic coast of the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula () of South Africa is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good ...

, South Africa.

Description

''Amblychilepas'' is closely associated with '' Dendrofissurella'' and ''

Medusafissurella ''Medusafissurella'' is a genus of minute deepwater keyhole limpets, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets and slit limpets.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2012). Medusafissurella McLean & Kilburn, 1 ...

'' with which it shares

radula The radula (; : radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters ...

r and shell characters. The body of species in this genus is larger than the shell. The anterior part of the oval shell is narrower than the rest. Both ends of the shell are somewhat raised. The

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of the shell shows fine radial ribs. The upper mantle fold only slightly envelops the edge of the shell. The apical opening (''foramen'') is elongate-oval and situated almost in the center. Long papillae extend from the mantle towards the foramen, as in ''A. nigrita''. The foot extends behind the shell with a length larger than the shell. Contrary to '' Dendrofissurella'' and ''

'', the foremost part of the foot (''propodium'') is unmodified. The large outer lateral tooth of the

is quadricuspid ( = with four cusps).

Species

Species within the genus ''Amblychilepas'' include: * † '' Amblychilepas acra'' (Cotton, 1947) * '' Amblychilepas compressa'' ( Thiele, 1930) * '' Amblychilepas crucis'' (Beddome, 1882) * '' Amblychilepas javanicensis'' (

Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...

, 1822): type species. * '' Amblychilepas nigrita'' ( G.B. Sowerby I, 1834) * '' Amblychilepas oblonga'' (Menke, 1843) * '' Amblychilepas omicron'' (Crosse & Fisher, 1864) * '' Amblychilepas platyactis'' McLean & Lilburn, 1986 ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Amblychilepas dubia'' ( Reeve, 1849): synonym of ''

Medusafissurella dubia ''Medusafissurella dubia'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, better known as the keyhole limpets. Description The shell size varies between 16 mm and 36 mm. Distribution This species ...

'' ( Reeve, 1849) * ''Amblychilepas pritchardi'' Hedley, C., 1895: synonym of '' Amblychilepas nigrita'' ( Sowerby, 1834) * ''Amblychilepas scutella'' (

Gmelin Gmelin may refer to: * Karl Christian Gmelin, Carl Christian Gmelin (1762–1837), German botanist, author of ''Flora Badensis, Alsatica et confinium regionum cis- et transrhenania'' (1806) * Charles Gmelin (1872–1950), British Olympic athlete * ...

, 1791): synonym of '' Dendrofissurella scutellum''

References

* Vaught, K.C. (1989). ''A classification of the living Mollusca.'' American Malacologists: Melbourne, FL (USA). . XII, 195 pp.

External links

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4741554 Fissurellidae