GastropodGastropods (; previously known as Univalves; class Gastropoda) are a vast and diverse group of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca, comprising the animals commonly known as snails and slugs. With an estimated 65,000 to 80,000 living species, they form the second-largest animal class after the insects. The fossil record of gastropods extends back to the Late Cambrian.
Sea snailSea snails are slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with land snails, and with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the absence of a visible shell.
Common nameIn biology, a common name is a name of a taxon or organism that is based on the normal language of everyday life. It may happen that the same name is used for different organisms in different regions ("robin" is used for several unrelated species of birds), or that the same organism is referred to by different names (cougar, puma, mountain lion, panther); and different languages use different names (cat, gato, chat, 貓...) Many, but not all, organisms have a common name.
SpeciesBasic unit of taxonomic classification, below genusThe hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks. A genus contains one or more species. Minor intermediate ranks are not shown.A species (pl. species) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity.
Family (taxonomy)Family (Latin: familia, pl.: familiae) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus.
Monotypic taxonIn biology, for ranks such as genus or family, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate extant taxon. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case in which a genus and a single extant species are simultaneously described.
LittorinimorphaLittorinimorpha is a large order of snails, gastropods, consisting primarily of sea snails (marine species), but also including some freshwater snails (limnic species) and land snails (terrestrial species). Previously, the Linnaean taxonomy used in the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Ponder & Lindberg (1997) ranked like this: subclass Orthogastropoda, superorder Caenogastropoda, order Sorbeoconcha, suborder Hypsogastropoda, infraorder Littorinimorpha.
CladeIn biology, a clade () (from Ancient Greekκλάδος (kládos)'branch'), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy adopted by most biological fields. The common ancestor may be an individual, a population, or a species (extinct or extant).
HoloceneCurrent geological epochSubdivision of the Holocene according to the ICS, as of 2024.Vertical axis scale: Gregorian yearsEtymologyName formalityFormalUsage informationCelestial bodyEarthRegional usageGlobal (ICS)Time scale(s) usedICS Time ScaleDefinitionChronological unitEpochStratigraphic unitSeriesTime span formalityFormalLower boundary definitionEnd of the Younger Dryasstadial.Lower boundary GSSPNGRIP2 ice core, Greenland75°06′00″N42°19′12″W / 75.1000°N 42.3200°W / 75.1000; -42.3200Lower GSSP ratified2008Upper boundary definitionPresent dayUpper boundary GSSPN/AN/AUpper GSSP ratifiedN/AThe Holocene () is the current geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago.
MolluscaMollusca is a phylum of protostomicinvertebrateanimals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). 86,600 extantspecies of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The number of additional fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000, and the proportion of undescribed extant species is very high. Many taxa remain poorly studied.
PredationPredation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. The predator-prey relationship is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the host) and parasitoidism (which always does, eventually).
OceanBody of salt water covering most of EarthThe ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as oceans (in descending order by area: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Antarctic/Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean), and are themselves mostly divided into seas, gulfs and subsequent bodies of water.
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