Argyropeza
Encyclopedia
Argyropeza is a genus
of small deep-sea sea snail
s, marine
gastropod molluscs in the family
Procerithiidae
.
The name of this genus is derived from the Greek word arguropeza ("silver foot"), the epithet
given by Homer
to the sea nymph
Thetis
.
, but the shells of species in this genus are thinner and more vitreous, and the suture is more deeply impressed.
This genus is not well known and its systematic position has long been uncertain. It was sometimes assigned to the Litiopidae
Gray, 1847 or to the Cerithiinae within Cerithiidae
, both belonging to the same superfamily Cerithioidea
.
It was moved to Procerithiidae
because of its similarity with Crypaulax. Then Argyropeza can be a living fossil
.
According to Taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)
Argyropeza is within subfamily Cryptaulacinae within Procerithiidae.
According to Bandel (2006) is Argyropeza within the newly described subfamily Argyropezinae Bandel, 2006 within Procerithiidae.
region (Arabian Sea, Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Papua, New Guinea, Vanuatu and South Africa). They are detrivores, obtaining their nutrient
s from detritus
and soft sediment
.
varies between 9 and 12. The shell is sculptured
with low axial ribs. Each whorl is marked by two spiral ribs with sharp nodules. The ovate aperture
has a marked siphonal canal
and a weak anal canal. The aperture is closed off by a thin, corneous, cerithioid operculum
that is multispiral and almost circular. The outer lip is thin. The columella is concave. Their protoconch
has 3½ whorls and are sculptured with two spiral lirae.
Until the study of Richard S. Houbrick (1980) almost nothing had been written about the soft parts of these snails. The animal has a long siphon. The cephalic tentacle
s have the eyes at their base. The taenioglossate radula
has a quadrate rachdian tooth, flanked on each side a trapezoidal lateral tooth and two long marginal teeth. Their larva
e are pelagic.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of small deep-sea sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
s, marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod molluscs in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Procerithiidae
Procerithiidae
Procerithiidae is a family of snails, gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha.Argyropeza is the only genus in the Procerithiidae, that is extant.- Taxonomy :...
.
The name of this genus is derived from the Greek word arguropeza ("silver foot"), the epithet
Epithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
given by Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
to the sea nymph
Nymph
A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing;...
Thetis
Thetis
Silver-footed Thetis , disposer or "placer" , is encountered in Greek mythology mostly as a sea nymph or known as the goddess of water, one of the fifty Nereids, daughters of the ancient one of the seas with shape-shifting abilities who survives in the historical vestiges of most later Greek myths...
.
Taxonomy
The genus Argyropeza is closely related to the genus BittiumBittium
Bittium is a genus of very small sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cerithiidae, the horn snails. - Species :Species in the genus Bittium include:* Bittium adamsi* Bittium aedonium * Bittium afrum...
, but the shells of species in this genus are thinner and more vitreous, and the suture is more deeply impressed.
This genus is not well known and its systematic position has long been uncertain. It was sometimes assigned to the Litiopidae
Litiopidae
Litiopidae, common name litiopids, is a family of small sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha.According to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi the family Litiopidae has no subfamilies.-Genera:...
Gray, 1847 or to the Cerithiinae within Cerithiidae
Cerithiidae
Cerithiidae, common name the cerithiids or ceriths, is a large family of medium-sized marine gastropods in the clade Sorbeoconcha.- Distribution :...
, both belonging to the same superfamily Cerithioidea
Cerithioidea
The Cerithioidea is a superfamily of marine, brackish water and freshwater gastropod containing more than 200 genera. The Cerithoidea are included in the clade Sorbeoconcha. The original name of this superfamily was Cerithiacea, in keeping with common superfamily endings at the time.- Ecology...
.
It was moved to Procerithiidae
Procerithiidae
Procerithiidae is a family of snails, gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha.Argyropeza is the only genus in the Procerithiidae, that is extant.- Taxonomy :...
because of its similarity with Crypaulax. Then Argyropeza can be a living fossil
Living fossil
Living fossil is an informal term for any living species which appears similar to a species otherwise only known from fossils and which has no close living relatives, or a group of organisms which have long fossil records...
.
According to Taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005)
Taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005)
The taxonomy of the Gastropoda as it was revised by Philippe Bouchet and Jean-Pierre Rocroi is currently the most up-to-date overall system for classifying gastropod mollusks...
Argyropeza is within subfamily Cryptaulacinae within Procerithiidae.
According to Bandel (2006) is Argyropeza within the newly described subfamily Argyropezinae Bandel, 2006 within Procerithiidae.
Distribution
The snails of this deep-sea genus can be found on the continental slopes and island groups in the Indo-PacificIndo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
region (Arabian Sea, Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Papua, New Guinea, Vanuatu and South Africa). They are detrivores, obtaining their nutrient
Nutrient
A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy...
s from detritus
Detritus
Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...
and soft sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
.
Description
They are small snails (6 to 8 mm in length) with a thin, vitreous shell that is elongated and has a pointed spire with a smooth tip. The number of the whorlsWhorl (mollusc)
A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...
varies between 9 and 12. The shell is sculptured
Sculpture (mollusc)
The sculpture of a mollusc shell is the three-dimensional ornamentation on the outer surface, as distinct from the basic shape of the shell itself or colouration. Sculpture may be concave as well as convex. Sometimes it has microscopic detail. Sculpture refers to the calcareous outer layer, not the...
with low axial ribs. Each whorl is marked by two spiral ribs with sharp nodules. The ovate aperture
Aperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
has a marked siphonal canal
Siphonal canal
Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is drawn into the mantle cavity and over the gill and which serves as a chemoreceptor to locate food. In many carnivorous snails, where the siphon is particularly long, the structure...
and a weak anal canal. The aperture is closed off by a thin, corneous, cerithioid operculum
Operculum (gastropod)
The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...
that is multispiral and almost circular. The outer lip is thin. The columella is concave. Their protoconch
Protoconch
A protoconch is an embryonic or larval shell of some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod...
has 3½ whorls and are sculptured with two spiral lirae.
Until the study of Richard S. Houbrick (1980) almost nothing had been written about the soft parts of these snails. The animal has a long siphon. The cephalic tentacle
Tentacle
A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
s have the eyes at their base. The taenioglossate radula
Radula
The radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...
has a quadrate rachdian tooth, flanked on each side a trapezoidal lateral tooth and two long marginal teeth. Their larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e are pelagic.
Species
Species within the genus Aryropeza include:- Argyropeza divinaArgyropeza divinaArgyropeza divina is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Procerithiidae....
Melvill & Standen, 1901 - Argyropeza izekianaArgyropeza izekianaArgyropeza izekiana is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Procerithiidae....
Kuroda, 1949 - Argyropeza leucocephalumArgyropeza leucocephalumArgyropeza leucocephalum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Procerithiidae....
(Watson, 1886) - Argyropeza schepmanianaArgyropeza schepmanianaArgyropeza schepmaniana is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Procerithiidae....
Melvill, 1912 - Argyropeza verecundaArgyropeza verecundaArgyropeza verecunda is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Procerithiidae....
Melvill & Standen, 1903