Kingdom Animalia Superfamily Aplysioidea Scientific name Petalifera Rank Genus | Class Gastropoda Family Aplysiidae Phylum Mollusca | |
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Similar Phyllaplysia, Dolabrifera, Syphonota geographica, Notarchus, Stylocheilus | ||
Petalifera in passeggiata tra la cimodocea
Petalifera is a genus of sea slugs or sea hares, marine gastropod mollusks belonging to the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.
Contents
Some authors place this genus in a separate family Dolabriferidae. A new study, published in September 2004, 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.
Petalifera in accoppiamento
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.