The Pneumodermatidae are a

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 ...

sea angel Sea angels (clade Gymnosomata) are a large group of small free-swimming sea slugs, classified into six separate families. They are pelagic opisthobranchs in the clade Gymnosomata within the larger mollusc clade Heterobranchia. Sea angels were pre ...

s, or small floating

predatory Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

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 or

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some Marine biology, marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial Slug, slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are Sea snail, sea snails (marine gastropod moll ...

s. They are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the sur ...

marine

heterobranch Heterobranchia, the heterobranchs (meaning "different gill"), is a taxonomic clade of snails and slugs, which includes marine, aquatic, and terrestrial gastropod molluscs. Heterobranchia is one of the main clades of gastropods. Currently Hetero ...

opisthobranch Opisthobranchs () is a now 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. Euopistho ...

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

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Gymnosomata Sea angels (clade Gymnosomata) are a large group of small free-swimming sea slugs, classified into six separate families. They are pelagic opisthobranchs in the clade Gymnosomata within the larger mollusc clade Heterobranchia. Sea angels were pre ...

. These small pelagic snails lack

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

s (except in their early

embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...

nic stage). They are

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they ar ...

s, equipped with swimming parapoda (fleshy, wing-like outgrowths), strong jaws, and grasping tentacles, often with suckers resembling those of

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

Genera

Genera within the family Pneumodermatidae include: Genus: ''

Pneumoderma The Pneumodermatidae are a family (biology), family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine (ocean), marine Heterobranchia, heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata ...

'' de Roissy, 1805 * ''

Pneumoderma atlanticum The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

'' Oken, 1815 * ''

Pneumoderma degraaffi The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

'' van der Spoel & Pafort-van Iersel, 1982 – distribution:

Sargasso Sea The Sargasso Sea () is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it is the only one without land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Oc ...

, length: 11.8 mm * ''

Pneumoderma mediterraneum The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

'' van Beneden, 1838 – distribution:

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, length: 20 mm * ''

Pneumoderma peronii The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

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 ...

, 1819 – distribution: Red Sea * ''

Pneumoderma violaceum ''Pneumoderma violaceum'' is a species of sea angel, a type of pteropod or sea slug. It has small wings and tentacles to catch its prey, being the sea butterfly. Distribution The species is found in deep waters near Patagonia, Alaska and the ...

d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropol ...

, 1836 – distribution: Bermuda, oceanic, length: 25 mm, description: This pteropod grabs its prey with two powerful suckers, each with about 30 suctorial disks, then it bulges out its long proboscis. *** '' Pneumoderma violaceum pacificum'' Dall, 1871 *** '' Pneumoderma violaceum violaceum''

, 1836 Genus: ''

Pneumodermopsis The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

'' Keferstein, 1862 * '' Pneumodermopsis canephora'' Pruvot-Fol, 1924 * '' Pneumodermopsis ciliata'' (Gegenbaur, 1855) – distribution: circumglobal, oceanic, description: possesses five tentacles, each ending in a big suctorial disk * '' Pneumodermopsis macrochira'' Meisenheimer, 1905 – distribution: oceanic * '' Pneumodermopsis michaelsarsi'' Bonnevie, 1913 – distribution: Bermuda, oceanic * '' Pneumodermopsis oligocotyla'' Massy, 1917 * ''

Pneumodermopsis paucidens The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (except ...

'' (Boas, 1886) – distribution: Brazil, oceanic, length: 5 mm * ''

Pneumodermopsis pupula The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

'' Pruvot-Fol, 1926 * '' Pneumodermopsis spoeli'' Newman & greenwood, 1988 – Distribution: Australia. * '' Pneumodermopsis teschi'' van der Spoel, 1973 – distribution: oceanic Genus ''

Schizobrachium The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

'' Meisenheimer, 1903 * '' Schizobrachium polycotylum'' Meisenheimer, 1903 – distribution: oceanic Genus ''

Spongiobranchaea The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

'' d'Orbigny, 1836 * '' Spongiobranchaea australis''

, 1836 – distribution:

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

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 ...

, sub-

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, oceanic, length: 22 mm * ''

Spongiobranchaea intermedia The Pneumodermatidae are a family (biology), family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine (ocean), marine Heterobranchia, heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata ...

'' Pruvot-Fol, 1926 – distribution: oceani
image
Genus ''

Abranchaea The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

'' Zhan Fu-Sui, 1975 * '' Abranchaea chinensis'' Zhan Fu-Sui, 1975 Genus ''

Platybrachium The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (excep ...

'' Minichev, 1976

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3138902 Gastropod families Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille