''Cardiapoda'' is a genus of very small floating

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 ...

s or heteropods,

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

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 ...

mollusc 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 esti ...

s or

micromollusc A micromollusk is a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also r ...

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 ...

Carinariidae Carinariidae, known by the common name "heteropods" like their relatives in the Pterotracheoidea, is a taxonomic family of swimming or floating sea snails, pelagic marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha. Distribution The snails ...

. Both tentacles are of equal size and well-developed. The external layer of the body wall is thin. They are found worldwide in the

pelagic zone The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

of warm seas.

Species

* '' Cardiapoda placenta'' (

Lesson A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...

, 1831) - flat cardiapod * ''

Cardiapoda richardi ''Cardiapoda richardi'' is a species of sea gastropod, a holoplanktonic marine gastropod mollusk in the family Carinariidae Carinariidae, known by the common name "heteropods" like their relatives in the Pterotracheoidea, is a taxonomic fami ...

'' Vayssière, 1903

Synonyms

* ''Cardiapoda acuta'' Tesch, 1906 (synonym of ''Cardiapoda placenta'' (Lesson, 1831) ) * ''Cardiapoda carinata''

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 ...

, 1834 (synonym of ''Cardiapoda richardi'' Vayssière, 1903) * ''Cardiapoda pedunculata''

, 1835 (synonym of ''Cardiapoda placenta'' (Lesson, 1831) ) * ''Cardiapoda sublaevis'' Tesch, 1906 (synonym of ''Cardiapoda placenta'' (Lesson, 1831) )

References

Seapy, Roger R. 2008. Cardiapoda d'Orbigny 1836. Version 12 February 2008, Tree of Life Web Project : Cardiapoda
* * Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 Carinariidae {{Carinariidae-stub