Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Spiralia
Cladus: Lophotrochozoa
Phylum: Mollusca
Classis: Gastropoda
Subclassis: Heterobranchia
Infraclassis: Euthyneura
Cohors: Tectipleura
Subcohors: Euopisthobranchia
Ordo: Aplysiida
Superfamilia: Aplysioidea
Familia: Aplysiidae
Genus: Petalifera
Species (7): P. albomaculata – P. gravieri – P. krusadaiae – P. petalifera – P. punctulata – P. qingdaonensis – P. ramosa
Name
Petalifera Gray, 1847
References
Links
Petalifera in the World Register of Marine Species
Petalifera is a genus of sea slugs or sea hares, marine gastropod mollusks belonging to the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.
Some authors place this genus in a separate family Dolabriferidae. A new study, published in September 2004,[1] has shown that the genus Petalifera is paraphyletic.
(Note: Gastropod taxonomy has been in flux for more than half a century, and this is especially true currently, because of new research in molecular phylogeny. Because of all the ongoing changes, different reliable sources can yield very different classifications.)
A more general description can be found on the page of the superfamily Aplysioidea.
Description
The parapodia (fleshy winglike outgrowths), as can be seen in photos of Petalifera petalifera, are almost completely fused. The pair of small rounded flaps form the parapodial cavity over the mantle cavity and the vestigial shell. These sea hares swim by coiling and uncoiling the body.
Species
Petalifera albomaculata Farran, 1905 - Sri Lanka.[2]
Petalifera habei Eales, 1960 (synonym of Petalifera ramosa)
Petalifera krusadalai O’Donoghue, 1930
Petalifera petalifera Rang, 1828[3]
Distribution : Cosmopolitan.
Length : 2 to 4 cm
Color : grayish to brown, with white longitudinal bands; almost translucent.
Description : rather flat body; their color camouflages them when they are grazing on the brown alga Padina.
Petalifera punctulata Tapparone-Canefri, 1874
Distribution : Japan
Petalifera qingdaonensis Lin, 1990
Petalifera ramosa Baba, 1959
Distribution : Western Pacific, Atlantic.
Length : 5 to 7 cm
Color : pink to pale brownish, with white rings over the body; almost translucent.
Description : mantle covered with firm conical tubercles; the larger tubercles have terminal papillae with retractable filamentous branches; difficult to find, mostly hidden under the leaves of green alga Caulerpa.
Footnotes
Annette Klussmann-Kolb (2004). "Phylogeny of the Aplysiidae (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia) with new aspects of the evolution of seahares". Zoologica Scripta. 33 (5): 439–462. doi:10.1111/j.0300-3256.2004.00158.x. S2CID 84214594.
Farran, G. P. (1905). Report on the opisthobranchiate Mollusca collected by Professor Herdman, at Ceylon, in 1902. In: Report to the government of Ceylon on the pearl oyster fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar. Part 3 Suppl. Rept., (21):329-364, pls. 1-6.
Rang S. (1828). Histoire Naturelle des Aplysiens. Paris, Firmin Didot 83 pp., 24 pl.Petalifera is a genus of sea slugs or sea hares, marine gastropod mollusks belonging to the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.
Some authors place this genus in a separate family Dolabriferidae. A new study, published in September 2004,[1] has shown that the genus Petalifera is paraphyletic.
(Note: Gastropod taxonomy has been in flux for more than half a century, and this is especially true currently, because of new research in molecular phylogeny. Because of all the ongoing changes, different reliable sources can yield very different classifications.)
A more general description can be found on the page of the superfamily Aplysioidea.
Description
The parapodia (fleshy winglike outgrowths), as can be seen in photos of Petalifera petalifera, are almost completely fused. The pair of small rounded flaps form the parapodial cavity over the mantle cavity and the vestigial shell. These sea hares swim by coiling and uncoiling the body.
Species
Petalifera albomaculata Farran, 1905 - Sri Lanka.[2]
Petalifera habei Eales, 1960 (synonym of Petalifera ramosa)
Petalifera krusadalai O’Donoghue, 1930
Petalifera petalifera Rang, 1828[3]
Distribution : Cosmopolitan.
Length : 2 to 4 cm
Color : grayish to brown, with white longitudinal bands; almost translucent.
Description : rather flat body; their color camouflages them when they are grazing on the brown alga Padina.
Petalifera punctulata Tapparone-Canefri, 1874
Distribution : Japan
Petalifera qingdaonensis Lin, 1990
Petalifera ramosa Baba, 1959
Distribution : Western Pacific, Atlantic.
Length : 5 to 7 cm
Color : pink to pale brownish, with white rings over the body; almost translucent.
Description : mantle covered with firm conical tubercles; the larger tubercles have terminal papillae with retractable filamentous branches; difficult to find, mostly hidden under the leaves of green alga Caulerpa.
Footnotes
Annette Klussmann-Kolb (2004). "Phylogeny of the Aplysiidae (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia) with new aspects of the evolution of seahares". Zoologica Scripta. 33 (5): 439–462. doi:10.1111/j.0300-3256.2004.00158.x. S2CID 84214594.
Farran, G. P. (1905). Report on the opisthobranchiate Mollusca collected by Professor Herdman, at Ceylon, in 1902. In: Report to the government of Ceylon on the pearl oyster fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar. Part 3 Suppl. Rept., (21):329-364, pls. 1-6.
Rang S. (1828). Histoire Naturelle des Aplysiens. Paris, Firmin Didot 83 pp., 24 pl.
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