''Monotigma'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of sea snails,

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod

mollusk 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 es ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Pyramidellidae Pyramidellidae, common name the pyram family, or pyramid shells, is a voluminous taxonomic family of mostly small and minute ectoparasitic sea snails, marine heterobranch gastropod molluscs. The great majority of species of pyrams are micr ...

, the pyrams and their allies.Bouchet, P. (2011). ''Monotigma'' G.B. Sowerby II, 1839. Accessed through:

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific speciali ...

at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=236154 on 2011-11-09Vaught, K.C. (1989). A classification of the living Mollusca. American Malacologists: Melbourne, FL (USA). . XII, 195 pp. The status of this genus was for a long time confused, but the situation was clarified in a review by van Aartsen (1986).

Life habits

Little is known about the biology of the members of this genus. As is true of most members of the

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

'', they are most likely to be

ectoparasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

Species

Species within the genus ''Monotigma'' include: * '' Monotigma eximia'' (Lischke, 1872) * '' Monotigma fulva'' (A. Adams, 1853) * '' Monotigma lauta'' (Adams, 1853) * '' Monotigma pareximia'' (Nomura, 1936) * '' Monotigma suturalis'' (A. Adams, 1853)

References

* Vaught, K.C. (1989). ''A classification of the living Mollusca''. American Malacologists: Melbourne, FL (USA). . XII, 195 pp. * 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 * Aartsen, J. J. van (1986). "Nomenclatural notes I. On Actaeopyramis as related to Monoptygma, Monotigma and Monotygma". Bolettino Malacologico 22 (5-8): 182–184.

External links

To World Register of Marine Species
Pyramidellidae {{Pyramidellidae-stub