''Cymbula adansonii'' 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 ...

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 ...

Patellidae Patellidae is a taxonomic family of sea snails or true limpets, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Patellogastropoda. (The superfamily Patelloidea should not be confused with the similar-sounding genus of true limpets ''Patelloida'' which ...

. It is one of the several families of true limpets. Marine gastropods, colloquially classified as snails and slugs, encompass the entire class of invertebrates in the Mollusca phylum. True limpets, are pelagic snails within the Patellidae family.

Description

''Cymbula adansonii'' is a species of

grouped under the family of

, from the marine

phylum. Limpets from the Patellidae family are classified into four clades:

Helcion ''Helcion'' is a genus of sea snails, true limpets, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Patellidae. Species Species within the genus ''Helcion'' include: Subgenus ''Ansates'' : accepted as ''Ansates'' G.B. Sowerby II x Klein 1839 * ''Helci ...

Cymbula ''Cymbula'' is a genus of sea snails, the true limpets, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Patellidae. Species Species within the genus ''Cymbula'' include: * ''Cymbula adansonii'' (Dunker, 1853) * ''Cymbula canescens'' (Gmelin, 1791) * '' ...

Scutellastra ''Scutellastra'' is a genus of sea snails with gills, typical true limpets, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Patellidae, the true limpets.Bouchet, P. (2012). Scutellastra H. Adams & A. Adams, 1854. Accessed through: World Register of ...

, and

Patella The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...

. The ''Cymbula'' genus originally emerged in Southern Africa. It shares a sister relationship with the Helcion genus. ''Cymbula adansonii'' is one out of eight

subspecies. The ''Cymbula'' genus originally emerged in Southern Africa. ''Cymbula adansonii'' was first discovered in 1853 by German zoologist

Wilhelm Dunker Wilhelm Dunker, full name Wilhelm Bernhard Rudolph Hadrian Dunker (21 February 1809, Eschwege – 13 March 1885, Marburg) was a German geologist, paleontologist and zoologist (specifically a malacologist). Wilhelm Dunker studied mining and ...

. It is naturally endemic to the Atlantic Ocean, specifically on the southwestern coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Distribution

''Cymbula adansonii'' commonly inhabit intertidal regions of shores. Their habitat zones are located near the western coastline of

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Geographic information was documented by Wilhelm Dunker in the coastal cities of

Swakopmund Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers ...

and

Langstrand Langstrand (''Afrikaans and German for "Long Beach", which the residential area is often called, too, among English-speaking tourists'') is a small beach resort on the Atlantic coast in western Namibia. Langstrand and its neighboring sister res ...

. The presence of nutrient-rich upwelling across the western regions of Africa is a main factor behind this species’ distribution. As a result of this the western coast has a greater proportion of productivity in comparison to the continent's other coastlines.

Anatomy and morphology

The body of ''Cymbula adansonii'' consists of a central apex with a concentric outer crossed-foliated shell layer. Each shell has repeating layers that connect with each other and share a common center. Shells of Patellidae gastropods have various levels of finely detailed structure with multiple layers on each respective species’ shell. The number of shell layers vary from four to six and are classified in regards to the myostracum. Shell layers are numbered m+3, m+2, m+1, m, m-1, and m-2, starting from the edge of the shell moving inwards to the center. The orientation of ''Cymbula adansoniis inner (m+1) shell layer is radial while its width is narrow. ''Cymbula adansonii'' has a cross-foliated center (m-2) shell layer composed of calcium carbonate. ''Cymbula adansonii'' has a set of

radula The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs 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 ...

that are not visible from its back side. ''Cymbula adansonii'' obtain nourishment through a three-part system involving the foregut, midgut, and hindgut. Its teeth are small, mineralized, and arranged in a V-like form. ''Cymbula adansonii'' has a small rachidian tooth, which is the middle row of teeth in a gastropod’s set of radula. It has a pluricuspid tooth in its radula, meaning it has several sets of cusps on one tooth. The cusps are composed of the mineral goethite and the gemstone opal.

Reproductive biology

Similar to other members of the Patellogastropoda clade, ''Cymbula adansonii'' employ aquasperm in order to reproduce. The aquasperm consists of a head, mid-piece, and tail. ''Cymbula adansonii'' thickens the head and base section of its aquasperm.

Feeding

Species from the Patellidae family like ''Cymbula adansonii'' are grazers who utilize their radula to scoop out and consume food particles and detritus.

References

* Koufopanou et al. (1999). ''A molecular phylogeny of the patellid limpets (Gastropoda: Patellidae) and its implications for the origins of their antitropical distribution'' Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 11(1): 138–156

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cymbula Adansonii Patellidae Gastropods described in 1853