Pneumodermopsis spoeli'', also Pneumodermopsis Sp'' is a species of

sea angel Sea angels (clade Gymnosomata) are a large group of small free-swimming sea slugs, not to be confused with Cnidarians (Jellyfish and other similar creatures), classified into six different families. They are pelagic opisthobranchs in the clade G ...

, a type of small

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 ...

of sorts, primarily found in deep, cool oceans.

Description

The animal is approximately 2–4 cm in size. It composes of translucent 'wings' as well as tentacles inside of its head. The bottom part of its body is curled and has a 'veil' of sorts at the rear. Juring an RNAextraction, a specimen that was collected had a mesh size of 200µm.

Distribution

In the

northern hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

, pneudomodermopsis spoeli has been observed in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, as well as northern European seas. Very few are known to exist. They have been also observed in the southern hemisphere, predominantly in the

great barrier reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

(

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

References

External links

Newman, L.; Greenwood, J. G. (1988). A new species of Gymnosome, Pneumodermopsis spoeli (Gastropoda; Opisthobranchia), from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Veliger. 31(1/2):75-79.

Spoel, S. van der; Newman, L. J. & Estep, K. W. Pelagic Molluscs. in: Marine Species Identification Portal
{{Taxonbar, from=Q61696882 Pteropoda Pneumodermatidae Molluscs described in 1988 Molluscs of the Mediterranean Sea