''Melanochlamys'' is a genus of headshield slugs in the family
Aglajidae
Aglajidae is a family of often colorful, medium-sized, sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks. These are not nudibranchs; instead they are headshield slugs, in the clade Cephalaspidea.Bouchet, P. (2012). Aglajidae. Accessed through: ...
. Despite the appearance of its species, this genus must not be confused with
nudibranchs.
[Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Melanochlamys Cheesman, 1881. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137639 on 5 June 2012]
This genus was first described by Cheeseman in 1881 but later malacologists considered it a junior synonym of ''
Aglaja''
Renier, 1807, until the genus was reinstated by Rudman in 1972
[Rudman, W.B. (1972) ''On Melanochlamys Cheeseman, 1881, a genus of the Aglajidae'' (Opisthobranchia: Gastropoda). Pacific Science, 26(1): 50-62, 8 figs.]
It differs from the other genera in Aglajidae by its external cylindrical body form with small
parapodia
In invertebrates, the term parapodium ( Gr. ''para'', beyond or beside + ''podia'', feet; plural: parapodia) refers to lateral outgrowths or protrusions from the body. Parapodia are predominantly found in annelids, where they are paired, unjointed ...
, the shape of its small, curved and strongly calcified shell, its alimentary canal with a rigid, non-eversible buccal bulb, and the reproductive system with a short duct to the exogenous ( = originating from the outside) sperm sac and a characteristic
penis
A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do n ...
.
Species
According to the
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 ...
(WoRMS), this genus contains the following accepted names:
* ''
Melanochlamys algirae''
(Adams A. in Sowerby G.B. II, 1850)
* ''
Melanochlamys aquilina''
S.-Q. Zhang, M.-J. Liao, Y.-G. Wang, M. Kong & B. Li, 2020
* ''
Melanochlamys barryi''
Gosliner, 1990
* ''
Melanochlamys chabanae''
Breslau, Valdés & Chichvarkhin, 2016
* ''
Melanochlamys cylindrica''
Cheeseman, 1881
* ''
Melanochlamys diomedea''
(Bergh, 1893)
* ''
Melanochlamys ezoensis''
(Baba, 1957)
* ''
Melanochlamys fukudai''
Cooke, Hanson, Hirano, Ornelas-Gatdula, Gosliner, Chernyshev & Valdés, 2014
* ''
Melanochlamys handrecki''
Burn, 2010
* ''
Melanochlamys kohi''
Cooke, Hanson, Hirano, Ornelas-Gatdula, Gosliner, Chernyshev & Valdés, 2014
* ''
Melanochlamys lorrainae''
(Rudman, 1968)
* ''
Melanochlamys maderensis''
(Watson, 1897)
* ''
Melanochlamys miqueli''
(Pelorce, Horst & Hoarau, 2013)
* ''
Melanochlamys papillata''
Gosliner, 1990
* ''
Melanochlamys queritor''
(Burn, 1957)
* ''
Melanochlamys wildpretii''
Ortea, Bacallado & Moro, 2003
;Species brought into synonymy :
* ''Melanochlamys depicta''
(Renier, 1807): synonym of ''
Philinopsis depicta
''Philinopsis depicta'' is a species of sea slug, an opisthobranch gastropod mollusc in the family Aglajidae. It is native to the Mediterranean Sea where it lives on the sandy seabed in shallow water. It is a predator.
Description
''Philinops ...
''
(Renier, 1807)
* ''Melanochlamys dubia''
(O'Donoghue, 1929): synonym of ''
Philinopsis dubia''
(O'Donoghue, 1929)
* ''Melanochlamys nana''
(Steinberg & Jones, 1960): synonym of ''Melanochlamys diomedea''
(Bergh, 1894)
* ''Melanochlamys seurati''
(Vayssière, 1926): synonym of ''
Melanochlamys algirae''
(Adams A. in Sowerby G.B. II, 1850)
* ''Melanochlamys virgo''
(Rudman, 1968): synonym of ''
Philinopsis virgo''
(Rudman, 1968)
References
*Vaught, K.C. (1989). ''A classification of the living Mollusca''. American Malacologists: Melbourne, FL (USA). . XII, 195 pp
* 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
* Rolán E., 2005. ''Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda''
* Pelorce J., Horst D. & Hoarau A., 2013, 2012. U''ne nouvelle espèce de la famille Aglajidae (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) des côtes de Méditerranée française.'' Iberus 31(2): 165-170
External links
Adams, H. & Adams, A. (1853-1858). The genera of Recent Mollusca; arranged according to their organization. London, van Voorst. Vol. 1: xl + 484 pp.; vol. 2: 661 pp.; vol. 3: 138 pls. Rudman, W.B. (1972) On Melanochlamys Cheeseman, 1881, a genus of the Aglajidae (Opisthobranchia: Gastropoda). Pacific Science, 26(1): 50-62, 8 figs.* [https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx064/4584517 Zamora-Silva A. & Malaquias M.A.E. (2018 - nomenclatural availability: 2017). Molecular phylogeny of the Aglajidae head-shield sea slugs (Heterobranchia: Cephalaspidea): new evolutionary lineages revealed and proposal of a new classification. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 183(1): 1-51]
*
{{Commons category
Aglajidae
Taxa named by Thomas Frederic Cheeseman