''Haminoea natalensis'', common name the South African bubble snail, 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 ...
or bubble snail, 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
* ...
opisthobranch
Opisthobranchs () is now an informal name for a large and diverse group of specialized complex gastropods which used to be united in the subclass Opisthobranchia. That taxon is no longer considered to represent a monophyletic grouping.
Euopisth ...
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 ...
mollusc
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 esti ...
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 ...
Haminoeidae
Haminoeidae, commonly known as the haminoeid bubble snail family, is a taxonomic family of sea snails, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Haminoeoidea.
The name of this family has long been controversial, and used to be A ...
, one of the families of bubble snails.
Taxonomy
The species was first described by
Paul Bartsch in 1915
Oskars and Malaquias 2020 found that the original description of
Haminoea natalensis shows a shell with longitudinal growth lines and a large anterior aperture, which is a close match to H. alfredensis. Due to this Oskars and Malaquias considered H. natalensis as a potential senior synonym of H. alfredensis. However, the authors refrained form synonymising the names due to the type shells of H. natalensis being lost, and due to the name of the name being mostly connected to Pacific haminoeids of the genus
Haloa Pilsbry, 1921 mainly the species now known as
Haloa wallisii.
The name of this species will be in question until it is properly revised.
The editors of
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 ...
and Molluscabase has decided on considering Haminoea alfredensis a junior synonym of H. natalensis.
Distribution
The South African bubble shell is endemic to temperate waters off the coast of South Africa.
Description
''Haminoea alfredensis'' has a length of 9–17 mm, and it has a broad radular ribbon with about 40 teeth in each half row. The color of this species is translucent green, dotted with yellow to orange spots.
[Gosliner, T.M. (1987) Nudibranchs of Southern Africa, a guide to the Opisthobranchs of southern Africa. Sea Challengers, Monterey. 136pp.]
References
natalensis
Gastropods described in 1915
{{Heterobranchia-stub