Petalifera

Petalifera
Petalifera petalifera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Euopisthobranchia
clade Aplysiomorpha
P. Fischer, 1883
Superfamily: Aplysioidea
Family: Aplysiidae
Genus: Petalifera
Gray, 1847
Species

See text.

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 on-going changes, different reliable sources can yield very different classifications.)

A more general description can be found on the page of the superfamily Aplysioidea.

Contents

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

Footnotes

External links and references