| Melanochlamys | |
|---|---|
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| Holotype of Melanochlamys miqueli at MNHN, Paris | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Cephalaspidea |
| Superfamily: | Philinoidea |
| Family: | Aglajidae |
| Genus: | Melanochlamys Cheeseman, 1881 |
| Type species | |
| Melanochlamys cylindrica Cheeseman, 1881 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Melanochlamys is a genus of headshield slugs in the family Aglajidae. Despite the appearance of its species, this genus must not be confused with nudibranchs.
This genus was first described by Cheeseman in 1881 but later malacologists considered it a junior synonym of Aglaja Renier, 1807, until the genus was reinstated by Rudman in 1972.
It differs from the other genera in Aglajidae by its external cylindrical body form with small parapodia, the shape of its small, curved and strongly calcified shell, its alimentary canal with a rigid, non-eversible buccal bulb, and the reproductive system with a short duct to the exogenous ( = originating from the outside) sperm sac and a characteristic penis.
