''Goodingia capillastericola'' is a species 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

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 in the family Eulimidae. This species, along with '' Goodingia varicosa'' belongs in the genus ''

Goodingia ''Goodingia'' is a genus of sea snails, 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 are crinoid- parasitic.Minichev, 1970. Warén A. (1980). Revision of the genera Thyca, Stilifer, Scalenostoma, Mucronalia and Echineulima (Mollusca, Prosobranchia, Eulimidae). Zoologica Scripta 9: 187-210. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=536143 on 2013-02-24.

Description

''G. capillastericola'' has an oblong, transparent,

conical A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

shell ending in a

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology of the shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk. In gastropods In gastropods, the b ...

. It has a small operculum with a large proboscis. They have hermaphroditic reproductive systems. Due to their transparent shells, their soft flesh is visually exposed, demonstrating their characteristic white-and-brown striped patterning. As veliger, they possess a well-developed head and a

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

, and small velar lobes (fleshy modules extending from the velum). ''G. capillastericola'' differs from its congener, '' Goodingia varicosa,'' by having a rounder shell and a different position of its seminal vesicle in its hermaphroditic reproductive system, hence their inability to cross-reproduce.

Habitat

''Goodingia capillastericola'' has been found in the Northern Red Sea ( Gulf of Aqaba),

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 ...

( Amami-Oshima Island), and Papa New Guinea (Sek Island, Madang Province). Specimens have been found attached to arms of the

feather star Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, which are ...

Capillaster multiradiatus ''Capillaster'' is a genus of crinoids. It contains the following species: * ''Capillaster asterias'' AH Clark, 1931 * ''Capillaster gracilicirra'' AH Clark, 1912 * ''Capillaster macrobrachius'' (Hartlaub, 1890) * ''Capillaster mariae ''Capi ...

'' in

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of Colony (biology), colonies of coral polyp (zoology), polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, wh ...

2-2.5m deep. Specimens found in Japan and Papa New Guinea were found to be morphologically identical, but genetically distinct.

References

External links

To World Register of Marine Species
Eulimidae Gastropods described in 1970 {{Eulimidae-stub