Pseudococculinidae is a

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 ...

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 ...

s or false limpets,

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 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 e ...

s in the superfamily

Lepetelloidea Lepetelloidea is a superfamily of sea snails, small deepwater limpets, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Vetigastropoda (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). (Previously this superfamily was in the or ...

(according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).Gofas, S. (2012). Pseudococculinidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=23106 on 2013-02-09 This family has no subfamilies. The species in this family are

hermaphroditic In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separ ...

. They can be found from sublittoral to hadal depths.

Description

The shells are small (less than 6 mm), thin and translucent. The

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called ...

shows a long, narrow

apical Apical means "pertaining to an apex". It may refer to: *Apical ancestor, refers to the last common ancestor of an entire group, such as a species (biology) or a clan (anthropology) *Apical (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features loc ...

fold. Its microscopic

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

is smooth with fine threads. The asymmetrical

radula The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...

shows a broad, rachidian tooth that lacks a cusp, four inner lateral teeth, a large pluricuspid tooth, and numerous marginal teeth. Soft body: the right tentacle is generally modified into a copulatory organ.José H. Leal and M. G. Harasewych, Deepest Atlantic Molluscs: Hadal Limpets (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Cocculiniformia) from the Northern Boundary of the Caribbean Plate, Invertebrate Biology, Vol. 118, No. 2 p. 127

Genera

Genera in the family Pseudococculinidae include: * '' Amphiplica'' Haszprunar, 1988 * '' Bandabyssia'' Moskalev, 1976 * '' Copulabyssia'' Haszprunar, 1988Haszprunar (1988). ''Zool. Ser.'' 17(2): 177. * '' Kaiparapelta'' B.A. Marshall, 1986 * '' Kurilabyssia'' Moskalev, 1976 * '' Mesopelex'' B.A. Marshall, 1986 * '' Notocrater'' Finlay, 1926 * '' Pseudococculina'' Schepman, 1908 * '' Punctabyssia'' McLean, 1991 * '' Tentaoculus'' Moskalev, 1976 * '' Yaquinabyssia'' Haszprunar, 1988 ;Synonyms: * Subfamily Caymanabyssiinae B. A. Marshall, 1986 '' Caymanabyssiidae'' B. A. Marshall, 1986 (original rank) * ''Punctolepeta'' Habe, 1958 '' Notocrater'' Finlay, 1926

References

* Marshall B.A. (1986 1985" ''Recent and Tertiary Cocculinidae and Pseudococculinidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from New Zealand and New South Wales''. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 12: 505-546.

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3169619