Cephalopyge trematoides

Cephalopyge trematoides is a pelagic species of nudibranch. A free-swimming marine gastropod in the family Phylliroidae.[2] Cephalopyge trematoides is the only known species in its genus (i.e. the genus is monotypic).[3]

For the trilobite genus formerly known as Cephalopyge, see Marocconus.

Cephalopyge trematoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Nudibranchia
Family: Phylliroidae
Genus: Cephalopyge
Hanel, 1905
Species:
C. trematoides
Binomial name
Cephalopyge trematoides
(Chun, 1889)
Synonyms
  • Ctilopsis
  • Dactylopus
  • Nectophyllirhoe
  • Boopsis
  • Bonneviia
  • C. mediterraneus
  • C. orientalis
  • C. picteti
  • C. michaelsarsi
  • C. arabica[1]

Etymology

Cephalopyge is a contraction of cephalus (Greek: κεφαλή kephale, "head") and pyge (πūγή, "behind") referring to the position of the anus close to the head. The species epithet trematoides expresses a likeness to flukes.[1]

Description

C. trematoides grows to 2.5 cm in length. It swims at approximately 12 cm/s, by passing several undulatory waves down its body each second.[4] It is flattened and transparent; its internal organs are visible.[3]

Pelagic nudibranchs

Of the approximately 3000 species of nudibranch, the vast majority are benthic, only a couple are neustonic, and C. trematoides is very unusual in that it is pelagic.[5][6] It is estimated to be one of only five planktonic nudibranch species (another epipelagic example is Phylliroe bucephala).[7]

Further information (including photos):

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References
  1. Lalli, Carol M.; Gilmer, Ronald W. (1989). Pelagic Snails: The Biology of Holoplanktonic Gastropod Mollusks. Stanford University Press.
  2. World Register of Marine Species
  3. Marine species identification portal: Cephalopyge and Cephalopyge trematoides.
  4. Sea Slugs of Hawaii
  5. J.E. Steinberg, The pelagic nudibranch, Cephalopyge trematoides (Chun, 1889), in New South Wales with a note on other species in this genus, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 81:184-192 (1956)
  6. G.M. Mapstone & M.N. Arai, Siphonophora (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) of Canadian Pacific Waters, p.33. "The best documented predators of pelagic cnidarians from the phylum Mollusca are the neustonic nudibranchs and snails [...and] the pelagic nudibranch [...]"
  7. Orso Angulo-Campillo, Gerardo Aceves-Medina and Raymundo Avedaño-Ibarra, Holoplanktonic mollusks (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from the Gulf of California, México Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
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