clade Cephalaspidea
clade Thecosomata
clade Gymnosomata
clade Aplysiomorpha
group Acochlidiacea
clade Sacoglossa
group Cylindrobullida
clade Umbraculida
clade Nudipleura
Opisthobranchs (/əˈpɪsθəˌbræŋks,-θoʊ-/[2]) is a now informal name for a large and diverse group of specialized complex gastropods which used to be united in the subclass Opisthobranchia. That taxon is no longer considered to represent a monophyletic grouping.[3]
Euopisthobranchia is a taxon containing a revised collection of opisthobranchs, and that taxon is considered monophyletic. Euopisthobranchia does not include some "traditional" opisthobranchs such as the Sacoglossa and the Acochlidiacea.[4] The subclass Heterobranchia now contains all the species which used to be assigned to Opisthobranchia, plus all the species in the Pulmonata.
The subclass Opisthobranchia included species in the order Cephalaspidea (bubble shells and headshield slugs), the sacoglossans, anaspidean sea hares, pelagic sea angels, sea butterflies, and many families of the Nudibranchia.[3]
Opisthobranch means "gills behind" (and to the right) of the heart. In contrast, Prosobranch means gills in front (of the heart). Opisthobranchs are characterized by two pairs of tentacles and a single gill behind and to the right of the heart. With the lack of a heavily mineralized shell, there has been very little fossil record of the group. However, molecular clock studies have suggested that Opisthobranchia emerged as early as the Carboniferous.[5][6]
Bullina lineata
^Jensen, K. R. (1997). "Evolution of the Sacoglossa (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia) and the ecological associations with their food plants". Evolutionary Ecology. 11 (3): 301–335. doi:10.1023/A:1018468420368. S2CID 30138345.
^"Opisthobranch". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022.
^ abCite error: The named reference Bouchet 2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Jörger 2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^(in Czech) Pek I., Vašíček Z., Roček Z., Hajn. V. & Mikuláš R.: Základy zoopaleontologie. – Olomouc, 1996. 264 pp., ISBN 80-7067-599-3.
^Medina, Mónica; Lal, Shruti; Vallès, Yvonne; Takaoka, Tori L.; Dayrat, Benoît A.; Boore, Jeffrey L.; Gosliner, Terrence (1 March 2011). "Crawling through time: Transition of snails to slugs dating back to the Paleozoic, based on mitochondrial phylogenomics". Marine Genomics. 4 (1): 51–59. doi:10.1016/j.margen.2010.12.006. ISSN 1874-7787. PMID 21429465.
specialized complex gastropods which used to be united in the subclass Opisthobranchia. That taxon is no longer considered to represent a monophyletic grouping...
older classification of the gastropods, there were four subclasses: Opisthobranchia (gills to the right and behind the heart). Gymnomorpha (no shell) Prosobranchia...
the order Nudibranchia, located in the gastropod mollusc subclass Opisthobranchia (the marine slugs: which consisted of nudibranchs, sidegill slugs,...
"Towards a phylogeny and evolution of Acochlidia (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158: 124–154. doi:10.1111/j...
plasticity of radular teeth of the Sacoglossa (= Ascoglossa) (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia) in relation to their food plants". Biological Journal of the Linnean...
suggests a new taxonomy for two Pacific species of sea hares (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia, Aplysiidae). Pacific Science 67: 283–294. Valdés, Alexander, Crocetta...
slugs", numerous families are within the informal taxonomic group Opisthobranchia: The term "sea slug" is perhaps most often applied to nudibranchs,...
with a critical review of published records of Glaucidae (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia)". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. 178 (2): 107–123....
Michiels, N. K. (2007). "Mating behaviour in the sea slug Elysia timida (Opisthobranchia, Sacoglossa): hypodermic injection, sperm transfer and balanced reciprocity"...
mollusks, in the order Pteropoda (also included within the informal group Opisthobranchia). Most pteropods have some form of calcified shell, although it is...
"Systematic position of the pelagic Thecosomata and Gymnosomata within Opisthobranchia (Mollusca, Gastropoda) - revival of the Pteropoda". Journal of Zoological...
species of Cyerce Bergh, 1871, C. kikutarobabai from Yoron Island (Opisthobranchia: Sacoglossa)". Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory...
algae in a photosynthetic slug, Plakobranchus ocellatus (Sacoglossa, Opisthobranchia), by barcoding. Planta. Feb;237(2):559-72. doi: 10.1007/s00425-012-1788-6...
N. (1990) Red Sea Opisthobranchia 3: The orders Sacoglossa, Cephalaspidea, and Nudibranchia: Doridacea (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia). Fauna of Saudi Arabia...
slugs, pelagic marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the order Opisthobranchia. As is the case in all gymnosome pteropods, these sea angels lack a...
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jorunna parva. Baba, K. (1938) Opisthobranchia of Kii, Middle Japan. Journal of the Dept of Agriculture, Kyushu Imperial...
Lower Heterobranchia includes shelled marine and freshwater species. Opisthobranchia are almost all marine species, some shelled and some not. The internal...
transparent pelagic nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the order Opisthobranchia, that consists of two known species. It is notable for being an open-ocean...
found at the Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand. Burn, R. 1957. On some Opisthobranchia from Victoria. Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia 1(1):...
algae in a photosynthetic slug, Plakobranchus ocellatus (Sacoglossa, Opisthobranchia), by barcoding. Planta. Feb;237(2):559-72. doi: 10.1007/s00425-012-1788-6...
Kenchington W. (1991). "Acochlidium fijiiensis sp. nov. (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia: Acochlidiacea) from Fiji". The Veliger 34(2): 166-171. Rudman W. B...
Nico K (2007-07-04). "Mating behaviour in the sea slug Elysia timida (Opisthobranchia, Sacoglossa): hypodermic injection, sperm transfer and balanced reciprocity"...
Muniain, C. (2011). Predation by the nudibranch Tritonia odhneri (Opisthobranchia:Tritoniidae) on octocorals from the South Atlantic Ocean. Marine Biodiversity...
[in Russian] New data on the opisthobranch molluscs (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) of waters of Commander Islands and Far-Eastern seas of Russia. In:...
"A New Species of Gymnosome, Pneumodermopsis spoeli (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia), from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia". Burridge, Alice K.; Hörnlein...
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