Carinariidae
| Carinariidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Some examples of Carinariidae from "Atlas Zoologique du Voyage de la corvette La Bonite (1845–1852)" | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Pterotracheoidea |
| Family: | Carinariidae Blainville, 1818 |
| Genera | |
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See text | |
Carinariidae, known by the common name "heteropods" like their relatives in the Pterotracheoidea, is a taxonomic family of swimming or floating sea snails, pelagic marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha.
Distribution[edit]
The snails of this family occur worldwide in the pelagic zone of tropical to subtropical seas. floating or swimming by moving up and down the fin-shaped front part of their foot.
Feeding habits[edit]
They feed on jellyfish, larvae of other snails and on zooplankton.
Anatomy[edit]
The cylindrical body of these snails can be divided in three regions: the proboscis, the trunk and the tail region. The body is elongated and much longer than the reduced shell. But in Pterosoma the trunk is wider and is somewhat disc-shaped. The taenioglossan radula has seven teeth in each row: one central tooth, flanked on each side by one lateral and two marginal teeth. The central tooth has three central cusps and on each side a large process backing away from the center. The lateral teeth terminate in a sharp point.
The protoconch in the adult shell of Carinaria and Pterosoma is located at the apex.
Taxonomy[edit]
The following two subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005):
- Carinariinae Blainville, 1818 – synonym: Pterosomatidae, Rang, 1829
- † Brunoniinae Dieni, 1990
Genera[edit]
Genera within the family Carinariidae include:
Carinariinae
- Cardiapoda D'Orbigny, 1835
- Carinaria Lamarck, 1801
- Pterosoma Lesson, 1827 – the only one species: Pterosoma planum R. P. Lesson, 1827
† Brunoniinae
- † Brunonia G. Müller, 1898 – type genus of the subfamily Brunoniinae
References[edit]
- "Carinariidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- Seapy, Roger R. 2007. Carinariidae Blainville 1818. Version 5 December 2007 in The Tree of Life Web Project