Haminoeoidea
|
|
| Haminoeoidea | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| Families | ||||||||||||||||
The superfamily Haminoeoidea (Pilsbry, 1895) consists of a group of cephalaspideans with distinct anatomical and morphological characteristics.
It is a pity that most species have been described only from empty shells. Most species still need a description of the living animal.
The thin, inflated shells range from ovoid to flat and oval. They have an involute (sunken) spire. The animals can retract completely or partially into their shells. Yet this offers them scant protection. The aperture is rather wide and there is no operculum. Furthermore, the shell is very fragile.
The cephalic shield of most species in this superfamily has two hind lobes that lie back on the front of the shell. The black eyes are usually buried just benath the surface of the head.
Haminoeid bubble snails are mostly herbivorous. One can find them in enormous numbers, burrowing in mud on intertidal and sublittoral beds of green algae such as Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca).
Their predators include aglajids such as Navanax inermis
Further treatment at Cephalaspidea
Familes (three)
Family Haminoeidae (treated in a separate article)
Family Bullactidae Thiele, 1926
Genus Bullacta Bergh, 1901
- Bullacta exarata Philippi, 1848
- Distribution : China, Yellow Sea, Indo-Pacific
Family Smaragdinellidae Thiele, 1925
Oval yellow-green shell with sunken spire; very large aperture.
Genus Phanerophthalmus A. Adams, 1850
- Phanerophthalmus cylindricus (Pease, 1861)
- Distribution : Indo-Pacific, Hawaii
- Phanerophthalmus smaragdinus Ruppell & Leuckart, 1828
- Distribution : tropical Indo-West Pacific, Hawaii
- Length : 16 mm
- Description : herbivore with a rather small cephalic shield; small enclosed mantle cavity ending in an exhalant siphon; small shell is partially enclosed in the mantle; color : brown to purple.
Genus Smaragdinella A. Adams & Reeve, 1848
- Smaragdinella algirae Forbes, 1844
- Smaragdinella calyculata Broderip & Sowerby 1829
- Distribution : Japan, Indo-Pacific
- Length : 8 mm
- Description : green mantle with darkgreen spots
- Smaragdinella sieboldii A. Adams, 1864
Reference
Rudman, W.B. (1972g) The herbivorous opisthobranch genera Phanerophthalmus A. Adams and Smaragdinella A. Adams. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 40(3): 189-210, 11 figs.