Kleinella is a small genus

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 sea snail

Sea snail

Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....

s, pyramidellid

Pyramidellidae

Pyramidellidae, common name the pyram family, or pyramid shells, is a voluminous taxonomic family of mostly small and minute ectoparasitic sea snails, marine heterobranch gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs....

 gastropod mollusk or micromollusk

Micromollusk

A micromollusk is a descriptive term for a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also reach adult size at very small...

s. This genus is currently placed in the subfamily Turbonillinae

Turbonillinae

Turbonillinae is a subfamily of mostly minute parasitic sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Pyramidellidae, the pyrams and their allies.-Taxonomy:...

.

Shell description

The original description (Adams, 1860) reads: Testa ovata, tenuis, umbilicata, superficie cancellata; spira producta, apice obtuso. Apertura elongata, antice producta et integra; labio tenui, simplici; labro postice angulato, in medio recto, margine acuto. This genus nearly resembles Actaeon

Actaeon

Actaeon , in Greek mythology, son of the priestly herdsman Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, was a famous Theban hero. Like Achilles in a later generation, he was trained by the centaur Chiron....

, but without any fold on the columella; the umbilicus, moreover, is wide and deep, and the surface of the shell is cancellated. The other lip forms an angle posteriorly with the last whorl, and is straight in the middle."

The description of the type reads: "K. testa oblonga, late et profunde umbilicata; spira elatiuscula, apice obtuso; pallide fusca; anfractibus 3 1/2 convexiusculis (ultimo ventricoso), regulariter cancellatis; apertura ovali; labio tenui, simplici; labro in medio recto, postice angulato. Long. 1/8 poll. Hab. Straits of Korea; dredged from 63 fathoms.

Life habits

Little is known about the biology of the members of this genus. As is true of most members of the Pyramidellidae

Pyramidellidae

Pyramidellidae, common name the pyram family, or pyramid shells, is a voluminous taxonomic family of mostly small and minute ectoparasitic sea snails, marine heterobranch gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs....

 sensu lato, they are most likely ectoparasites.

Species

Species within the genus Kleinella include:

subgenus Euparthenia

Euparthenia

Euparthenia is a subgenus of very small sea snails, pyramidellid gastropod mollusks, or micromollusks in the subfamily Turbonillinae.The name Euparthenia is a replacement name for Parthenia Lowe, 1841 not Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830....

• Kleinella bulinea (Lowe, 1841)
• Kleinella humboldti (Risso, 1826)

subgenus ?

• Kleinella cancellaris A. Adams, 1860 - type species
• Kleinella amoena
• Kleinella cedrosa (Dall, 1884)
• Kleinella fulva (A. Adams, 1851)
• Kleinella sulcata (A. Adams, 1862)

External links

• Kleinella sulcata image