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Pyramidellidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Orthogastropoda
Superorder: Heterobranchia
Order: Heterostropha
Superfamily: Pyramidelloidea
Family: Pyramidellidae
J.E. Gray, 1840
subfamilies

See text. Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 The class Gastropoda or the gastropods, also previously known as gasteropods, or univalves, and more commonly known as Snails Orthogastropoda is one of two major Taxonomic groupings of snails and slugs an extremely large Subclass within the huge class Gastropoda. Heterobranchia, the heterobranchs, (meaning "different-gilled snails" is a Taxonomic Superorder of sea Snails marine Above the species level close to 400 named taxa are referred to the gastropod superfamily Pyramidelloidea. John Edward Gray ( 12 February 1800 &ndash 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist.

Pyramidellidae, common name the pyram family, or pyramid shells, is a voluminous taxonomic family of mostly small and minute parasitic sea snails, marine heterobranch gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs. For Wikipedia aspects see WikipediaNaming conventions (common names, WikipediaNaming conventions, and WikipediaStyle manual. Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos In Biological classification, family ( Latin Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. The word snail is a Common name that can be used for almost all members of the Molluscan class Gastropoda which have coiled shells in the Marine is an Umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the Sea or Ocean, such as Marine biology, Marine Heterobranchia, the heterobranchs, (meaning "different-gilled snails" is a Taxonomic Superorder of sea Snails marine The class Gastropoda or the gastropods, also previously known as gasteropods, or univalves, and more commonly known as Snails Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 A micromollusk is a descriptive term for a shelled Mollusk which is extremely small even at full adult size

The pyram family comprises more than 6,000 species in more than 350 genera [1]. This family of micromollusks has been little studied and the phylogenetic relationships within the family are not well worked out. It is currently divided into 11 subfamilies (Ponder & Lindberg 1997). An alternative interpretation is that the family Pyramidellidae is but one of six families within the superfamily Pyramidelloidea (Schander, van Aartsen & Corgan 1999). Above the species level close to 400 named taxa are referred to the gastropod superfamily Pyramidelloidea.

Contents

Subfamilies in the family Pyramidellidae

Taxonomy of Ponder & Lindberg (1997)

Taxonomy of Schander, Van Aartsen & Corgan (1999)

Taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)

Problematic genera

The following genera are currently difficult to place within existing subtaxa of the Pyramidellidae. Syrnolininae is a Subfamily of minute parasitic sea Snails marine Heterobranch Gastropod Molluscs in the Turbonillinae is a Subfamily of mostly minute parasitic sea Snails marine Gastropod Molluscs in the family Pyramidellidae A taxon (plural taxa) or taxonomic unit, is a name designating an organism or a group of Organisms In Biological nomenclature according to

Distribution

This family is found worldwide.

Shell description

The shell of these snails has a blunt, heterostrophic protoconch, which is often pointed sideways or wrapped up. A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell is an Embryonic or Larval shell of some classes of Molluscs e

The length of the slender, elongated (turreted or conical) shells varies between 0. 5 mm and 3. The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to 5 cm, but most species in the family have shells which are smaller than 13 mm. A centimetre ( American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one hundredth

The texture of these shells is smooth or sculptured in various forms such as ribs and spirals. Sculpture on a Mollusc shell is whatever natural 3-dimensional ornamentation exists on the outer surface of a shell apart from the basic shape of the shell itself Their color is mostly white, cream or yellowish, sometimes with red or brown lines.

The teleoconch is dextrally coiled, but the larval shells are sinistral. A larva ( Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of Animal with indirect development, undergoing Metamorphosis (for example This results in a sinistrally coiled protoconch.

The columella has usually one, but sometimes several, spiral folds. The columella (meaning little column is an anatomical feature of a coiled Snail shell or Gastropod shell. A plait is a feature which is present in some Snail shells. This feature occurs often in the shells of marine Gastropod Mollusks The aperture is closed by an operculum. The operculum, meaning little lid (plural opercula or operculums is a corneous or Calcareous structure which exists in some groups of marine freshwater and land

Life habits

The Pyramidellidae are ectoparasites, feeding mainly on other molluscs and on annelid worms, but some are known to feed on peanut worms and crustaceans (e. Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. A worm is a common name given to a diverse group of invertebrate animals that have a long soft body and no legs Structure of crustaceans As Arthropods crustaceans have a stiff Exoskeleton, which must be shed to allow the animal to grow ( Ecdysis or molting g. Sneli, 1972, Robertson & Mau-Lastovicka, 1979).

They do not have a radula. The radula is a toothed Chitinous ribbon typically used for scraping cutting and chewing food before it enters the Esophagus. Instead their long proboscis is used to pierce the skin of its prey and suck up its fluids and soft tissues. In general a proboscis (from Greek προ pro "before" and βοσκειν boskein "to feed" also known as probiscus The eyes on the grooved tentacles are situated toward the base of the tentacles. Between the head and the foot, a lobed process called the mentum ( = thin projection) is visible. The mentum refers to a projecting structure near the mouth of any of several animals In Insects the mentum is the distal part of the labium.

These molluscs are hermaphrodites, laying eggs in jelly-like masses on the shell of its host. A hermaphrodite is an organism having both male and female reproductive organs Some species have spermatophores (Høisaeter, 1965, Robertson, 1967, Schander, Hori & Lundberg, 1999)

Notes

  1. ^ Schander C. A spermatophore is a capsule or mass created by males of various Animal species containing Spermatozoa and transferred in entirety to the female's Ovipore ; Halanych K. M. ; Dahlgren T. ; Sundberg P (May 2003). "Test of the monophyly of Odostomiinae and Turbonilliinae (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Pyramidellidae) based on 16S mtDNA sequences". Zoologica Scripta 32 (3): 243–254. doi:10.1046/j.1463-6409.2003.00112.x. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  

References

External links

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