Cymbulioidea is a

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. A ...

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...

sea butterflies Sea butterflies, scientific name Thecosomata (thecosomes, "case / shell-body"), are a taxonomic suborder of small pelagic swimming sea snails. They are holoplanktonic opisthobranch gastropod mollusks. Most Thecosomata have some form of c ...

", one group of swimming sea snails. They are

holoplankton Holoplankton are organisms that are planktic (they live in the water column and cannot swim against a current) for their entire life cycle. Holoplankton can be contrasted with meroplankton, which are planktic organisms that spend part of their lif ...

opisthobranch Opisthobranchs () is now an informal name for a large and diverse group of specialized complex gastropods which used to be united in the subclass Opisthobranchia. That taxon is no longer considered to represent a monophyletic grouping. Euopis ...

gastropod molluscs in the clade

Thecosomata Sea butterflies, scientific name Thecosomata (thecosomes, "case / shell-body"), are a taxonomic suborder of small pelagic swimming sea snails. They are holoplanktonic opisthobranch gastropod mollusks. Most Thecosomata have some form of calc ...

Anatomy

Some groups within this superfamily possess a shell in the adult stage, some are without a shell in the adult stage, and others have developed a relatively tough gelatinous, cartilaginous internal structure, a sort of fake shell called the pseudoconch. The lateral and posterior foot lobes are joined as a ciliated

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elonga ...

that leads to the mouth, and the wings are united ventrally to form a single plate. A more general description is given under the entry

sea butterfly Sea butterflies, scientific name Thecosomata (thecosomes, "case / shell-body"), are a taxonomic suborder of small pelagic swimming sea snails. They are holoplanktonic opisthobranch gastropod mollusks. Most Thecosomata have some form of calc ...

Taxonomy

The group was originally referred to as the Pseudothecosomata Meisenheimer, 1905, although this name is invalid under the

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the Int ...

and thus is no longer recognized. Instead its three families are categorized within the superfamily Cymbulioidea, which is itself part of the clade Thecosomata. The superfamily Cymbulioidea consists of three following families (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005): *Family Peraclidae C. W. Johnson, 1915 **Genus '' Peracle'' Forbes, 1844 *Family

Cymbuliidae Cymbuliidae is a family of pelagic sea snails or "sea butterflies", marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cymbulioidea. Description Instead of an external calcareous shell, they possess a pseudoconch, consisting of conchioline, a cart ...

J.E. Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

, 1840 **Genus ''

Corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

Dall Dall may refer to: People * Anders Bendssøn Dall (died 1607), Danish Lutheran bishop * Bobby Dall (born 1963), American musician * Caroline Healey Dall (1822–1912), American feminist writer *Clarrie Dall (1887–1953), Australian footballer * C ...

, 1871 **Genus '' Cymbulia'' Peron & Lesueur, 1810 **Genus ''

Gleba Gleba (, from Latin ''glaeba, glēba'', "lump") is the fleshy spore-bearing inner mass of certain fungi such as the puffball or stinkhorn. The gleba is a solid mass of spores, generated within an enclosed area within the sporocarp. The conti ...

'' Forsskål, 1776 *Family

Desmopteridae Desmopteridae is a family of pelagic sea snails or "sea butterflies", marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cymbulioidea. This family has no subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). '' Desmopt ...

(

, 1921) **Genus '' Desmopterus'' Chun, 1889

Anatomy

Taxonomy

References

Further reading