Scutus is a genus of large sea snails or limpets with the common name "shield shells". These are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets and slit limpets.[1]

Scutus
a live Scutus sinensis
Dorsal view of a shell of Scutus breviculus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Vetigastropoda
Order: Lepetellida
Family: Fissurellidae
Subfamily: Emarginulinae
Genus: Scutus
Blainville, 1817
Type species
Scutus antipodes
Montfort, 1810
Synonyms[1]
  • Aviscutum Iredale, 1940
  • Nannoscutum Iredale, 1937
  • Parmophorus Blainville, 1817 (unnecessary substitute name for Scutus)
  • Scutum P. Fischer, 1885 (invalid: unjustified emendation of Scutus)
  • Scutus (Aviscutum) Iredale, 1940
Scutus
A live individual

Both the common name and the scientific name reflect the fact that the shells of species in this genus resemble a Roman shield.

Description

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The animal itself has a large black mantle which usually completely covers the shell, giving the animal a superficially slug-like appearance.

Species

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Species within the genus Scutus include:[2]

Species brought into synonymy

References

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  1. ^ a b Bouchet, P. (2012). Scutus Montfort, 1810. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=204176 on 2013-01-20
  2. ^ Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
  3. ^ Worldwide Mollusc Species Sata Base: Scutus scapha
  • Moore, R.C. (ed.) 1960. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part I. Mollusca 1. Boulder, Colorado & Lawrence, Kansas : Geological Society of America & University of Kansas Press xxiii + 351 pp.
  • Christiaens J. (1986). The Recent and fossil shells of the genus Scutus Montfort, 1810. Gloria Maris, 25(1):1-28
  • Wilson, B. 1993. Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods. Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp.
  • Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y. (1999) Catalogue and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Japan. Elle Scientific Publications, Yao, Japan, 749 pp.
  • Geiger, D.L. & Thacker, C.E. 2005. Molecular phylogeny of Vetigastropoda reveals non-monophyletic Scissurellidae, Trochoidea, and Fissurelloidea. Molluscan Research 25(1): 47-55
  • Aktipis, S.W., Boehm, E. & Giribet, G. 2011. Another step towards understanding the slit-limpets (Fissurellidae, Fissurelloidea, Vetigastropoda, Gastropoda): a combined five-gene molecular phylogeny. Zoologica Scripta 40(3): 238-259
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