Pseudococculinidae is 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 ...
of small
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 false limpets,
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 superfamily
Lepetelloidea (according to the
taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).
[Gofas, S. (2012). Pseudococculinidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=23106 on 2013-02-09]
This family has no subfamilies. The species in this family are
hermaphroditic
A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic.
The individuals of many ...
. They can be found from sublittoral to hadal depths.
Description
The shells are small (less than 6 mm), thin and translucent. The
protoconch
A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called " ...
shows a long, narrow
apical fold. Its microscopic
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 ...
is smooth with fine threads. The asymmetrical
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 ...
shows a broad, rachidian tooth that lacks a cusp, four inner lateral teeth, a large pluricuspid tooth, and numerous marginal teeth.
Soft body: the right tentacle is generally modified into a copulatory organ.
[José H. Leal and M. G. Harasewych, Deepest Atlantic Molluscs: Hadal Limpets (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Cocculiniformia) from the Northern Boundary of the Caribbean Plate, Invertebrate Biology, Vol. 118, No. 2 p. 127]
Genera
Genera in the family Pseudococculinidae include:
* ''
Amphiplica''
Haszprunar, 1988
* ''
Bandabyssia''
Moskalev, 1976
* ''
Copulabyssia''
Haszprunar, 1988[Haszprunar (1988). ''Zool. Ser.'' 17(2): 177.]
* ''
Kaiparapelta''
B.A. Marshall, 1986
* ''
Kurilabyssia''
Moskalev, 1976
* ''
Mesopelex''
B.A. Marshall, 1986
* ''
Notocrater''
Finlay, 1926
* ''
Pseudococculina''
Schepman, 1908
* ''
Punctabyssia''
McLean, 1991
* ''
Tentaoculus''
Moskalev, 1976
* ''
Yaquinabyssia''
Haszprunar, 1988
;Synonyms:
* Subfamily Caymanabyssiinae
B. A. Marshall, 1986 ''
Caymanabyssiidae''
B. A. Marshall, 1986 (original rank)
* ''Punctolepeta''
Habe, 1958 ''
Notocrater''
Finlay, 1926
References
* Marshall B.A. (1986
1985" ''Recent and Tertiary Cocculinidae and Pseudococculinidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from New Zealand and New South Wales''. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 12: 505-546.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3169619