Gymnosomata
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 Gymnosomata within the larger mollusc clade Heterobranchia. Sea angels were previously referred to as a type of pteropod. Sea angels are also sometimes known as "cliones" but this is potentially misleading because the family Clionidae is just one of the families within this clade. Recent molecular data suggest the Gymnosomata form a sister group to the Thecosomata (other planktonic, weakly or nonmineralized gastropods), but this long-standing hypothesis has also had some recent detractors. Fossils of the group go back to the Middle Frasnian stage of the Late Devonian period. Distribution These organisms have a wide geographic range, from polar regions, under sea ice, to equatorial (tropic) seas. Description In this clade, the foot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sea Angels
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 Gymnosomata within the larger mollusc clade Heterobranchia. Sea angels were previously referred to as a type of pteropod. Sea angels are also sometimes known as "cliones" but this is potentially misleading because the family Clionidae is just one of the families within this clade. Recent molecular data suggest the Gymnosomata form a sister group to the Thecosomata (other planktonic, weakly or nonmineralized gastropods), but this long-standing hypothesis has also had some recent detractors. Fossils of the group go back to the Middle Frasnian stage of the Late Devonian period. Distribution These organisms have a wide geographic range, from polar regions, under sea ice, to equatorial (tropic) seas. Description In this clade, the foo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sea Butterflies
Sea butterflies, scientific name Thecosomata (thecosomes, "case / shell-body"), are a taxonomic suborder of small pelagic swimming sea snails. They are holoplanktonic opisthobranch gastropod mollusks. Most Thecosomata have some form of calcified shell, although it is often very light and / or transparent. The sea butterflies include some of the world's most abundant gastropod species, and because of their large numbers are an essential part of the food chain, and a significant contributor to the oceanic carbon cycle. The sea butterflies are included in the Pteropoda order, and are also included in the informal group Opisthobranchia. Morphology Sea butterflies float and swim freely in the water, and are carried along with the currents. This has led to a number of adaptations in their bodies. The shell and the gill have disappeared in several families. Their gastropodal foot has taken the form of two wing-like lobes, or '' parapodia'', which propel the animal throu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thecosomata
Sea butterflies, scientific name Thecosomata (thecosomes, "case / shell-body"), are a taxonomic suborder of small pelagic swimming sea snails. They are holoplanktonic opisthobranch gastropod mollusks. Most Thecosomata have some form of calcified shell, although it is often very light and / or transparent. The sea butterflies include some of the world's most abundant gastropod species, and because of their large numbers are an essential part of the food chain, and a significant contributor to the oceanic carbon cycle. The sea butterflies are included in the Pteropoda order, and are also included in the informal group Opisthobranchia. Morphology Sea butterflies float and swim freely in the water, and are carried along with the currents. This has led to a number of adaptations in their bodies. The shell and the gill have disappeared in several families. Their gastropodal foot has taken the form of two wing-like lobes, or ''parapodia'', which propel the animal through the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pteropoda
Pteropoda (common name pteropods, from the Greek meaning "wing-foot") are specialized free-swimming pelagic sea snails and sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropods. Most live in the top 10 m of the ocean and are less than 1 cm long. The monophyly of Pteropoda is the subject of a lengthy debate; they have even been considered as paraphyletic with respect to cephalopods. Current consensus, guided by molecular studies, leans towards interpreting the group as monophyletic. Pteropoda encompasses the two clades Thecosomata, the sea butterflies, and Gymnosomata, the sea angels. The Thecosomata ( "case-body") have a shell, while the Gymnosomata ("naked body") do not. The two clades may or may not be sister taxa; if not, their similarity (in that they are both pelagic, small, and transparent, and both groups swim using wing-like flaps ( parapodia) which protrude from their bodies) may reflect adaptation to their particular lifestyle. Taxonomy The group Pteropoda was establ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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. Euopisthobranchia is a taxon containing a revised collection of opisthobranchs, and that taxon is considered monophyletic. Euopisthobranchia does not include some "traditional" opisthobranchs such as the Sacoglossa and the Acochlidiacea. The subclass Heterobranchia now contains all the species which used to be assigned to Opisthobranchia, plus all the species in the Pulmonata. The subclass Opisthobranchia included species in the order Cephalaspidea (bubble shells and headshield slugs), the sacoglossans, anaspidean sea hares, pelagic sea angels, sea butterflies, and many families of the Nudibranchia. ''Opisthobranch'' means "gills behind" (and to the right) of the heart. In contrast, ''Prosobranch'' means ''gills in front'' (of the he ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 time have either completely lost their shells, or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a greatly reduced or internal shell. The name "sea slug" is most often applied to nudibranchs, as well as to a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without obvious shells. Sea slugs have an enormous variation in body shape, color, and size. Most are partially translucent. The often bright colors of reef-dwelling species implies that these animals are under constant threat of predators, but the color can serve as a warning to other animals of the sea slug's toxic stinging cells ( nematocysts) or offensive taste. Like all gastropods, they have small, razor-sharp teeth, called radulas. Most sea slugs have a pair of rhinophores—sens ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pneumoderma Violaceum
The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (except in their early embryonic stage). They are carnivores, equipped with swimming parapoda (fleshy, wing-like outgrowths), strong jaws, and grasping tentacles, often with suckers resembling those of cephalopods. Genera Genera within the family Pneumodermatidae include: Genus: ''Pneumoderma'' de Roissy, 1805 * '' Pneumoderma atlanticum'' Oken, 1815 * '' Pneumoderma degraaffi'' van der Spoel & Pafort-van Iersel, 1982 – distribution: Sargasso Sea, length: 11.8 mm * '' Pneumoderma mediterraneum'' van Beneden, 1838 – distribution: Florida, Brazil, Mediterranean, length: 20 mm * '' Pneumoderma peronii'' Lamarck, 1819 – distribution: Red Sea * '' Pneumoderma violaceum'' d'Orbigny, 1836 – distribution: Bermuda, oceani ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pneumodermopsis Spe
The Pneumodermatidae are a family of sea angels, or small floating predatory sea snails or sea slugs. They are pelagic marine heterobranch opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the clade Gymnosomata. These small pelagic snails lack shells (except in their early embryonic stage). They are carnivores, equipped with swimming parapoda (fleshy, wing-like outgrowths), strong jaws, and grasping tentacles, often with suckers resembling those of cephalopods. Genera Genera within the family Pneumodermatidae include: Genus: '' Pneumoderma'' de Roissy, 1805 * '' Pneumoderma atlanticum'' Oken, 1815 * '' Pneumoderma degraaffi'' van der Spoel & Pafort-van Iersel, 1982 – distribution: Sargasso Sea, length: 11.8 mm * '' Pneumoderma mediterraneum'' van Beneden, 1838 – distribution: Florida, Brazil, Mediterranean, length: 20 mm * '' Pneumoderma peronii'' Lamarck, 1819 – distribution: Red Sea * ''Pneumoderma violaceum'' d'Orbigny, 1836 – distribution: Bermuda, oceanic, leng ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Clione Antarctica
''Clione antarctica'' is a species of "sea angel", a sea slug, a pelagic marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clionidae, the "sea angels". Distribution The distribution of ''Clione antarctica'' is within the Southern Hemisphere, in the polar waters of Antarctica. Rudman, W. B. (11 January 2006)"''Clione antarctica'' (Smith, 1902)" Sea Slug Forum. accessed 2 February 2011. Description The body length of this species is . Ecology ''Clione antarctica'' is an important component of polar ecosystems. It preys upon '' Limacina antarctica'' It is itself eaten by the medusa '' Diplulmaris antarctica''. ''C. antarctica'' has a large lipid storage capacity: up to 5% of its wet mass.. It is able to survive without food for about six months by utilizing these lipid storage reserves. ''Clione antarctica'' lays eggs in the spring. This species defends itself from predators by synthesizing an ichthyodeterrent (a chemical that deters fishes); this is a previously unknown molecu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Clione Limacina
''Clione limacina'', known as the naked sea butterfly, sea angel, and common clione, is a sea angel (pelagic sea slug) found from the surface to greater than depth.Gofas, S. (2012). ''Clione limacina''. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=139178 on 2012-07-23 It lives in the Arctic Ocean and cold regions of the North Atlantic Ocean. It was first described by Friderich Martens in 1676 and became the first gymnosomatous (without a shell) " pteropod" to be described. Subspecies * ''Clione limacina australis'' ( Bruguière, 1792)Gofas, S. (2011). ''Clione limacina''. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=139178 on 2011-01-29 * ''Clione limacina limacina'' (Phipps, 1774) Distribution ''Clione limacina'' is found in cold waters of the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic Ocean, ranging south at least to the Sargasso Sea. There are three oth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Journal Of Zoological Systematics And Evolutionary Research
''Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research'' (') is a quarterly, peer reviewed, scientific journal, published by Wiley-Blackwell. It was originally established in 1963, then reestablished in 1994 by John Wiley & Sons (some division of Blackwell). The editor in chief is Dr. Wilfried Westheide (, Germany). According to ''Journal Citation Reports'', the 2016 impact factor for this journal is 2.444. Scope The focus of ''Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research'' is the systematic study of animal sciences, connected with evolutionary research. Its function is both as a forum and a survey for the range of evolutionary research studies and related fields, which is published in English, German or French. A component of the focus is integrating original research results from anatomy, morphology, physiology, ethology, general genetics, population genetics, developmental biology, and molecular biology. Besides original research articles (20 pages), th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |