Notobranchaea inopinata Pelseneer, 1887c
Overview
This is a small naked pelagic snail, up to 0.5 cm long, with an opaque body; the visceral organs are slightly seen through the body wall. The anterior tentacles are small. There are two pairs of buccal cones. It is a good swimmer that hunts zooplankton and lives in the Indo-Pacific Ocean (Notobranchaea inopinata).
Taxonomic Description
Body shape resembles that of Notobranchaea macdonaldi although the neck is less constricted. The posterior gill with 3 crests shows a dorsal crest bearing small fringes. The footlobes are short, the lateral footlobes are hanging free only over half their length and they are less narrow than in Notobranchaea macdonaldi. The buccal apparatus similar to the buccals in Notobranchaea macdonaldi, except for the median plate being frequently absent. This gives a radula formula: 8-0-8 with about 30 transverse rows (Notobranchaea inopinata radula). There are two pairs of buccal cones.
Body length up to 5 mm.
Juveniles
A special description is not available.
Reproduction
This species is a protandric hermaphrodite.
Ecology
This species is a carnivore.
Distribution
It is known from the Indo-Malayan Sea and NW. Pacific Ocean in which it seems to penetrate, and from the Tasman Sea, see the Notobranchaea inopinata map.
Types
Notobranchaea inopinata Pelseneer, 1887:40, pl. 3, figs. 5-6.
Holotype not preserved in BMNH, u.s.
Type locality: 35°29'N 179°50'W. Coll.: CCHE, stat. 242.