Velutinidae

Velutinidae
Coriocella hibyae in Maldives.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Velutinoidea
Family: Velutinidae
Gray, 1840
Genera

See text

Synonyms

Lamellariidae d’Orbigny, 1841

Velutinidae is a family of small sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha.

Description

The length of the shell varies between 25 mm and 40 mm.

The shell of these animals is very thin and delicate, and internal, completely covered by the mantle (which has fused lobes) so the appearance of these animals more closely resembles that of dorid sea slugs rather than sea snails, but anatomically quite different. They are readily distinguished by the anterior siphon and typically snail-like, tentacle-bearing head beneath the anterior mantle. There are no rhinophores (chemosensory tentacles) or dorsal circlet of gills.

The shell is present but is completely internal. It is covered by a fleshy mantle. The ventral surface features a distinct foot and a head bearing tentacles with basal eyes. The anterior of the dorsal surface (notum) is indented along the midline, forming a short siphon. The mantle is relatively firm but has a somewhat gelatinous texture, appearing mostly smooth. The internal shell resembles an ear, being thin and fragile.

The colour is translucent, greyish-white to pinkish or yellow with black/brown spots and blotches. This colouration is variable, resembling that of the ascidian prey on which they live and feed and thus providing camouflage.

Taxonomy

Drawing of dorsal view of live animal of Onchidiopsis glacialis
Coriocella nigra

The following subfamilies were recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005):

The following subfamilies were additionally recognized in the updated taxonomy of Fassio, Bouchet, Schiaparelli & Oliverio (2022):

Drawing of dorsal view of live animal of Lamellaria latens
Drawing of ventral view of live animal of Lamellaria latens

Genera

Genera within the family Velutinidae sorted into currently accepted subfamilies:

Subfamily Hainotinae Fassio, Bouchet, Schiaparelli & Oliverio, 2022:

Subfamily Lamellariinae A.D. d'Orbigny, 1841

Subfamily Marseniopsinae Fassio, Bouchet, Schiaparelli & Oliverio, 2022:

Subfamily Velutininae J. E. Gray, 1840:

Genera brought into synonymy:

Nomen dubium:

References

  1. 1 2 Bouchet, Philippe; Rocroi, Jean-Pierre; Frýda, Jiri; Hausdorf, Bernard; Ponder, Winston; Valdés, Ángel & Warén, Anders (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". Malacologia. 47 (1–2). Hackenheim, Germany: ConchBooks: 1–397. ISBN 3-925919-72-4. ISSN 0076-2997.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  2. ↑ Gofas, S. (2014). Velutinidae Gray, 1840. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=143 on 2014-10-14
  3. ↑ Philippe Bouchet, Rocroi J.P., Hausdorf B., Kaim A., Kano Y., Nützel A., Parkhaev P., Schrödl M. & Strong E.E. (2017). Revised classification, nomenclator and typification of gastropod and monoplacophoran families. Malacologia. 61(1-2): 1-526.
  4. 1 2 3 Herbert, D.G., Jones, G.J. & Atkinson, L.J. (2018). Phylum Mollusca. In: Atkinson, L.J. and Sink, K.J. (eds) Field Guide to the Offshore Marine Invertebrates of South Africa. Pretoria: Malachite Marketing and Media. p. 289. doi:10.15493/SAEON.PUB.10000001. ISBN 978-1-86868-098-6. Retrieved 17 October 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
  5. ↑ Fassio, Giulia; Stefani, Matteo; Russini, Valeria; Buge, Barbara; Bouchet, Philippe; Treneman, Nancy; Malaquias, Manuel António E; Schiaparelli, Stefano; Modica, Maria Vittoria; Oliverio, Marco (2023-03-27). "Neither slugs nor snails: a molecular reappraisal of the gastropod family Velutinidae". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 197 (4): 924–964. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac091. hdl:11573/1680719. ISSN 0024-4082.
  6. ↑ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Velutinidae J. E. Gray, 1840". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2026-02-12.

Sources