''Pyropelta musaica'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of small

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a deep-water

limpet Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that exhibit a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. Limpets are members of the class Gastropoda, but are polyphyletic, meaning the various groups called "limpets" descended indep ...

, a

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 The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

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 e ...

s in the

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

Pyropeltidae.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the Juan de Fuca Ridge, Northeast Pacific

Habitat

This small limpet occurs at

hydrothermal vent A hydrothermal vent is a fissure on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hotspot ...

s and seeps

References

* McLean J.H. (1992) ''Cocculiniform limpets (Cocculinidae and Pyropeltidae) living on whale bone in the deep sea off California.'' Journal of Molluscan Studies 58: 401-414 * Warén, A. & Bouchet, P. (2001) ''Gastropoda and Monoplacophora from hydrothermal vents and seeps; new taxa and records.'' The Veliger, 44, 116–231.

External links

Steffen Kiel, ''Shell structures of vant and seep Gastropods'', Malacologia v. 46 (1) (2004)
Pyropeltidae Gastropods described in 1987 {{Pyropeltidae-stub