''Moelleriopsis'' 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 ...
of
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 unassigned in the
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 ...
Seguenzioidea
Seguenzioidea is a family (biology), superfamily of sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Vetigastropoda.Gofas, S. (2010). Seguenzioidea. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database ...
.
Description
The small shell of these deep-water species is relatively thin. It is white under a golden brown or olive brown epidermis. It contains few, convex
whorl
A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs).
In nature
File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagra ...
s, forming an elevated
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...
and large
body whorl
The body whorl is part of the morphology (biology), morphology of the gastropod shell, shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk ...
. The
suture is distinct. The round and deep
umbilicus
Umbilicus may refer to:
*The navel or belly button
*Umbilicus (mollusc), a feature of gastropod, Nautilus and Ammonite shell anatomy
*Umbilicus (plant), ''Umbilicus'' (plant), a genus of over ninety species of perennial flowering plants
*Umbilicus ...
has a moderate size, showing some of the whorls. The circular
aperture
In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...
is slightly oblique. The
peristome
Peristome (from the Greek language, Greek ''peri'', meaning 'around' or 'about', and ''stoma'', 'mouth') is an anatomical feature that surrounds an opening to an organ or structure. Some plants, fungi, and shelled gastropods have peristomes.
In mo ...
is continuous with a thin, sharp edge, appearing thickened within. It is attached to the body whorl only for a short distance.
Species
Species within the genus ''Moelleriopsis'' include:
* ''
Moelleriopsis abyssicola''
Bush, 1897
* ''
Moelleriopsis atlantis
''Moelleriopsis'' is a genus of sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks unassigned in the superfamily (biology), superfamily Seguenzioidea.
Description
The small shell of these deep-water species is relatively thin. It is white und ...
''
Hoffman, Gofas & Freiwald, 2020
* †''
Moelleriopsis carinaspira''
Lozouet, 1999
* ''
Moelleriopsis gritta''
Hoffman in Hoffman, Gofas & Freiwald, 2020
* ''
Moelleriopsis messanensis''
(Seguenza, 1876)
* ''
Moelleriopsis meteorminora''
Hoffman, Gofas & Freiwald, 2020
* ''
Moelleriopsis nipponica''
(Okutani, 1964)
* ''
Moelleriopsis normani''
(Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1897)
* ''
Moelleriopsis poppei''
Engl, 2012
* ''
Moelleriopsis richardi''
(Dautzenberg & H. Fischer, 1896)
* ''
Moelleriopsis sincera''
(Dall, 1890)
* ''
Moelleriopsis valvatoides''
(Jeffreys, 1883)
* ''
Moelleriopsis vemae''
(Clarke, 1961)
* ''
Moelleriopsis watsoni''
(Tryon, 1888)
;Species brought into synonymy:
* ''Moelleriopsis valvatoides''
(Jeffreys, 1883): synonym of ''
Skenea valvatoides''
(Jeffreys, 1883)
References
* Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). ''European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification''. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213
* Spencer, H.; Marshall. B. (2009). ''All Mollusca except Opisthobranchia.'' In: Gordon, D. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume One: Kingdom Animalia. 584 pp
External links
Bush, K. (1897). Revision of the marine gastropods referred to Cyclostrema, Adeorbis, Vitrinella and related genera with descriptions of some new genera and species belonging to the Atlantic fauna of America. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. 10: 97-144.Clarke, A. H. (1961). Abyssal mollusks from the South Atlantic Ocean. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 4, 345-387 Serge GOFAS, Ángel A. LUQUE, Joan Daniel OLIVER, José TEMPLADO & Alberto SERRA (2021) - The Mollusca of Galicia Bank (NE Atlantic Ocean); European Journal of Taxonomy 785: 1–114
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