Cephalopyge is a genus of pelagic nudibranchs comprising the single species Cephalopyge trematoides, a free-swimming marine gastropod in the family Phylliroidae.[2]
| Cephalopyge | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Cladobranchia |
| Family: | Phylliroidae |
| Genus: | Cephalopyge Hanel, 1905 |
| Species: | C. trematoides
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cephalopyge trematoides (Chun, 1889)
| |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
|
Genus synonymy
Species synonymy
| |
Etymology
editCephalopyge is a contraction of cephalus (Greek: κεφαλή kephale, "head") and pyge (πūγή, "behind") referring to the position of the anus close to the head. The species epithet trematoides expresses a likeness to flukes.[1]
Description
editCephalopyge trematoides grows to 2.5 cm (0.98 in) in length. It swims at approximately 12 cm/s (4.7 in/s), by passing several undulatory waves down its body each second.[4] It is flattened and transparent; its internal organs are visible.[5]
Pelagic nudibranchs
editOf the approximately 3000 species of nudibranch, the vast majority are benthic, only a couple are neustonic, and Cephalopyge trematoides is very unusual in that it is pelagic.[6][7] It is estimated to be one of only five planktonic nudibranch species (another epipelagic example is Phylliroe bucephala).[8]
Further information (including photos):
References
edit- ^ a b Lalli, Carol M.; Gilmer, Ronald W. (1989). Pelagic Snails: The Biology of Holoplanktonic Gastropod Mollusks. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804714907.
- ^ a b "Cephalopyge". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ "Cephalopyge trematoides". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ Sea Slugs of Hawaii
- ^ Marine species identification portal: Cephalopyge and Cephalopyge trematoides.
- ^ J.E. Steinberg, The pelagic nudibranch, Cephalopyge trematoides (Chun, 1889), in New South Wales with a note on other species in this genus, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 81:184-192 (1956) [1]
- ^ G.M. Mapstone & M.N. Arai, Siphonophora (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) of Canadian Pacific Waters, p.33. "The best documented predators of pelagic cnidarians from the phylum Mollusca are the neustonic nudibranchs and snails [...and] the pelagic nudibranch [...]"
- ^ Orso Angulo-Campillo, Gerardo Aceves-Medina and Raymundo Avedaño-Ibarra, Holoplanktonic mollusks (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from the Gulf of California, México [2] Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine