''Cryptobranchia kuragiensis'' 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
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
true limpet
The Patellogastropoda, common name true limpets and historically called the Docoglossa, are members of a major phylogenetic group of marine gastropods, treated by experts either as a clade or as a taxonomic order.
The clade Patellogastropoda ...
, a marine
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 ...
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 ...
Lepetidae
Lepetidae is a family of sea snails or small, deep-water true limpets, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Patellogastropoda the true limpets.
Taxonomy
This family consists of the two following subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of t ...
, one of the families of true limpets.
Description
As a member of the clade Patellogastropoda, Cryptobranchia kuragiensis are mostly gonochoric and broadcast spawners. In terms of their life cycle, embryos develop into planktonic trocophore larvae and later into juvenile veligers before becoming fully grown adults.
Distribution
Cryptobranchia kuragiensis can be found in the Northwest
Pacific waters around
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
References
Lepetidae
Gastropods described in 1920
{{Lepetidae-stub