''Ebala'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

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 subfamily Ebalinae, family Murchisonellidae.Gofas, S. (2009). ''Ebala'' Gray, 1847. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137920 on 2010-09-16 Members of the genus ''Ebala'' are small (<4 mm) gastropods, the shells of which have a sinistral

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 ...

. The shell is transparent, sometimes with opaque spots. In contrast to most of the families in the parent superfamily

Pyramidelloidea Pyramidelloidea is a superfamily of mostly very small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks and micromollusks within the clade Panpulmonata. This is a voluminous taxon: above the species level close to 400 named taxa are referred to this gast ...

, they do possess a

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 ...

. They are found in tropical to temperate waters, often associated with sea grass beds (e.g. '' Posidonia'' and ''

Zostera ''Zostera'' is a small genus of widely distributed seagrasses, commonly called marine eelgrass, or simply seagrass or eelgrass, and also known as seaweed by some fishermen and recreational boaters including yachtsmen. The genus ''Zostera'' con ...

'').

Species

Species within the genus ''Ebala'' include: * '' Ebala communis'' Bandel, 2005 * ''

Ebala gradata ''Ebala'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Ebalinae, family Murchisonellidae.Gofas, S. (2009). ''Ebala'' Gray, 1847. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through ...

'' (Monterosato, 1878) * '' Ebala micalii'' (Peñas & Rolán, 2001) * '' Ebala nitidissima'' ( Montagu, 1803) * '' Ebala pagodula'' (Yokoyama, 1927) * '' Ebala pointeli'' (de Folin, 1868) * '' Ebala scintillans'' A. Adams, 1861 * '' Ebala striatula'' (Jeffreys, 1856) * '' Ebala torquata'' (Saurin, 1962) * ''

Ebala trigonostoma ''Ebala'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Ebalinae, family Murchisonellidae.Gofas, S. (2009). ''Ebala'' Gray, 1847. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through ...

'' (de Folin, 1872)Gofas, S. (2009). ''Ebala trigonostoma'' (de Folin, 1872). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=139667 on 2010-09-16 * ''

Ebala venusta ''Ebala'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Ebalinae, family Murchisonellidae.Gofas, S. (2009). ''Ebala'' Gray, 1847. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through ...

'' (Melvill, 1904) * ''

Ebala vestalis ''Ebala'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Ebalinae, family Murchisonellidae.Gofas, S. (2009). ''Ebala'' Gray, 1847. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through ...

'' A. Adams, 1861 * ''

Ebala virginea ''Ebala'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Ebalinae, family Murchisonellidae.Gofas, S. (2009). ''Ebala'' Gray, 1847. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through ...

'' A. Adams, 1860

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3200415 Murchisonellidae Taxa named by John Edward Gray

Species

References

Further reading

External links