Notobranchaea inopinata Pelseneer, 1887c

Overview

This is a small naked pelagic snail, up to 0.5 cm long, with an opaque body; the visceral organs are slightly seen through the body wall. The anterior tentacles are small. There are two pairs of buccal cones. It is a good swimmer that hunts zooplankton and lives in the Indo-Pacific Ocean (Notobranchaea inopinata).

Taxonomic Description

Body shape resembles that of Notobranchaea macdonaldi although the neck is less constricted. The posterior gill with 3 crests shows a dorsal crest bearing small fringes. The footlobes are short, the lateral footlobes are hanging free only over half their length and they are less narrow than in Notobranchaea macdonaldi. The buccal apparatus similar to the buccals in Notobranchaea macdonaldi, except for the median plate being frequently absent. This gives a radula formula: 8-0-8 with about 30 transverse rows (Notobranchaea inopinata radula). There are two pairs of buccal cones.
Body length up to 5 mm.

Juveniles

A special description is not available.

Reproduction

This species is a protandric hermaphrodite.

Ecology

This species is a carnivore.

Distribution

It is known from the Indo-Malayan Sea and NW. Pacific Ocean in which it seems to penetrate, and from the Tasman Sea, see the Notobranchaea inopinata map.

Types

Notobranchaea inopinata Pelseneer, 1887:40, pl. 3, figs. 5-6.
Holotype not preserved in BMNH, u.s.
Type locality: 35°29'N 179°50'W. Coll.: CCHE, stat. 242.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Subclass Euthyneura
Order Gymnosomata
Suborder Gymnosomata
Family Notobranchaeidae
Genus Notobranchaea
Species Notobranchaea inopinata

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Not included in WoRMS database

Scientific synonyms and common names

Notobranchaea inopinata Pelseneer, 1887c

Synonyms

Notobranchaea inopinata n. sp. Pelseneer, 1887c : 40
Notobranchaea macdonaldi part Tesch, 1950a: 24

Bonnevie, K., 1913 (reprinted 1933). Pteropoda from the Michael Sars North-Atlantic Deep-Sea expedition. Rep. Sci. Res. 'Michael Sars' North Atl. Deep-Sea exp. 3(1): 1-69, 4 tabs, 58 figs, 9 pls.

Meisenheimer, J., 1905c. Pteropoda. Deutsch. Tiefsee Exp. 1898-1899 IX: 1-314, Atlas Pl. 1-27 Map 1-9.

Pafort-van Iersel, G. J. S., 1985a. Contributions to pelagic zoogeography of the mid North Atlantic Ocean, 1. Distribution of pteropods, heteropods and silver hatchetfishes. In: G. J. S. Pafort-van Iersel. A contribution to pelagic zoogeography of the mid North Atlantic Ocean (7th paper) (Thesis Univ. van Amsterdam): 1-45, 5 tabs, 4 figs, 27 append.

Pelseneer, P., 1887c. Report on the Pteropoda, 1. The Gymnosomata. Rep. Sci. Res. Voy. HMS. Challenger (1873-1876) (zool) 19(4): 1-74.

Starobogatov, J. I., 1971. Ordo Thecosomata; ordo Gymnosomata; ordo Heteropoda. In: Polevoy Zool. Inst. Akad. Moscou. opredeliteli planktona (without page or figure numbers, not bound, mimiographed). [in Russsian]

Tesch, J. J., 1904. The Thecosomata and Gymnosomata of the Siboga Expedition. Siboga Rep. 52: 1-92, 156 figs.

Tesch, J. J., 1913c. Mollusca, Pteropoda. In: F. E. Schulze. Das Tierreich. Eine Zusammenstellung und Kennzeichnung der rezenten Tierformen 36. Berlin (Friedberger and Sohn): i-xvi, 1-154, 108 figs.

Tesch, J. J., 1950a. The Gymnosomata. 2. Dana Rep. 6(36): 1-55, 37 figs.

Spoel, S. van der and Pafort-van Iersel, G. J. S., 1985. Note on the taxonomy of the family Notobranchaeidae and description of Notobranchaea bleekerae n. sp., a species new to science (Mollusca, Pteropoda). Basteria 49 (1-3): 29-361.

Spoel, S. van der, 1970b. The pelagic Mollusca from the 'Atlantide' and 'Galathea' expeditions collected in the East Atlantic. Atlantide Reports 11: 99-139, 24 figs.

Spoel, S. van der, 1971d. The pelagic Mollusca from the "Atlantide" and "Galathea" Expeditions collected in the East Atlantic. Atlantide Rep. 11: 99-139.

Spoel, S. van der, 1972a. A taxonomic outline of the Gymnosomata (Mollusca). Basteria 36 (2-5): 75-88.

Spoel, S. van der, 1976c. Pseudothecosomata, Gymnosomata and Heteropoda. Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema, Utrecht. 484 pp. 246 figs.

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