Diaphanidae

Diaphanidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Euopisthobranchia

clade Cephalaspidea

Superfamily: Diaphanoidea
Family: Diaphanidae
Odhner, 1922

Diaphanidae is a taxonomic family of small sea snails, marine opisthobranch gastropod molluscs or micromollusks in the superfamily Diaphanoidea, the headshield slugs and bubble snails.

The little-known species in this family have small, flimsy, almost globular shells, known as paper bubble gastropod shells.

Distribution

Species in this family are found in cold seas, such as the Arctic region, Antarctica, Australia, and New Zealand.

Habitat

The species occur in the sublitoral to abyssal zones.

Shell description

The shell is minute, thin, fragile, colorless to translucent, and usually less than 5 mm in size. The overall shape is ovate, pear-shaped, and bulbous. There is a sunken apex.

Genera

Genera within the family Diaphanidae include:

Subfamily Diaphaninae

Subfamily Toledoniinae

References

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.