Metarminoidea is a provisional

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

of colourful

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary t ...

s, aeolid

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to matc ...

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 ...

s in the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

Nudibranchia.Gofas, S. (2014). Metarminoidea Odhner, 1968. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=225537 on 2015-02-11 This name is unfortunately not available as a superfamily name, because it is not based on a genus. It is used here because, as of February 2015, no replacement name has yet been proposed.

Description

The nudibranchs in this superfamily share with the

Aeolidida The Aeolidida is a taxonomic clade of sea slugs, specifically aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Cladobranchia. They are distinguished from other nudibranchs by their possession of cerata containing cnidosacs. Taxonomy * ...

the possession of dorsal

cerata :''The tortrix moth genus ''Cerata'' is considered a junior synonym of ''Cydia. Cerata, singular ceras, are anatomical structures found externally in nudibranch sea slugs, especially in aeolid nudibranchs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks ...

. Unlike the cerata of aeolids they have either no

digestive gland The hepatopancreas, digestive gland or midgut gland is an organ of the digestive tract of arthropods and molluscs. It provides the functions which in mammals are provided separately by the liver and pancreas, including the production of digestive e ...

or short digestive gland intrusions into the cerata and no

cnidosac A cnidosac is an anatomical feature that is found in the group of sea slugs known as aeolid nudibranchs, a clade of marine opisthobranch gastropod molluscs. A cnidosac contains cnidocytes, stinging cells that are also known as cnidoblasts or n ...

s. In the

Goniaeolididae ''Goniaeolis'' is a monotypic genus of sea slug, a nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Goniaeolididae containing the single species ''Goniaeolis typica''.Gofas, S. (2014).''Goniaeolis typica'' Sars M., 1861.Accessed through: Worl ...

the digestive gland is ramified beneath the skin but does not extend into the cerata. The cerata are easily cast off and are probably defensive in purpose. In the

Proctonotidae Proctonotidae is a family of sea slugs, nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs, in the clade Euthyneura Euthyneura is a taxonomic infraclass of snails and slugs, which includes species exclusively from marine, aquatic and terrestrial gastro ...

the cerata are cored with extensions of the digestive gland which terminates midway up the ceras in some species and extends to the tip in others. The anus may be on the right-hand side of the body (as in aeolids) or in the middle of the back towards the tail end (as in dorids).Thompson, T. E., & G. H. Brown. 1984. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs, vol. 2, 229 pp., 41 pls. Ray Society, no. 156. page 96.

References

Obsolete gastropod taxa {{Heterobranchia-stub