''Enteroxenos'' 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 ...

of very small

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

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 family

Eulimidae Eulimidae is a family of very small parasitic sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Vanikoroidea. Description These small parasitic snails live on (or in some cases in) the bodies of echinoderms such as sea cucumbers, sea ...

.Bonnevie, 1902. Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180-213 (look up in IMIS). Accessed through:

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137966 on 2013-01-18.

Description

These small snails have no mouth or gut, and absorb nutrients through their body wall. These odd animals look much more like worms than snails, but the larval form is a

veliger A veliger is the planktonic larva of many kinds of sea snails and freshwater snails, as well as most bivalve molluscs (clams) and tusk shells. Description The veliger is the characteristic larva of the gastropod, bivalve and scaphopod ...

, which is characteristic of mollusks.

Species

Species within this genus include the following: * '' Enteroxenos bouvieri'' (Risbec, 1953) * '' Enteroxenos muelleri'' (Semper, 1868) * '' Enteroxenos oestergreni'' Bonnevie, 1902 * '' Enteroxenos parastichopoli'' (Tikasingh, 1961) ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Enteroxenos ostergreni'' (Bonnevie, 1902): synonym of ''Enteroxenos oestergreni'' (Bonnevie, 1902)

Reproduction

The female is significantly larger than the male and may grow up to in length. The females become hosts to the smaller males, which then fertilise their eggs.

References

External links

First page of a 1964 paper in Transactions of American Microscopical Society about a species in this genus

The original 1902 paper (in German) describing the species

Nomenclator Zoologicus info on the genus

To World Register of Marine Species
Eulimidae Gastropod genera {{Eulimidae-stub