Leptogyra eritmeta is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Melanodrymiidae (formerly placed in Skeneidae by some classifications). It was first described by the American malacologist Katherine J. Bush in 1897.
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by K. J. Bush in her 1897 work "Revision of the marine gastropods referred to Cyclostrema, Adeorbis, Vitrinella and related genera," published in the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences (volume 10, pages 97–144). The type locality is off Delaware Bay in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Classification:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Mollusca
- Class: Gastropoda
- Subclass: Neomphaliones (or Vetigastropoda in older schemes)
- Order: Neomphalida
- Superfamily: Neomphaloidea
- Family: Melanodrymiidae
- Genus: Leptogyra
- Species: Leptogyra eritmeta
Description
Leptogyra eritmeta is a very small gastropod, reaching a maximum shell length of approximately 0.2 cm (2 mm). The shell is dextrally coiled (right-handed). Like other members of its family, it has a mineralized skeleton composed of calcium carbonate.
Distribution and Habitat
This species is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, specifically recorded off Delaware Bay. It is a marine benthic (seafloor-dwelling) species found at depths around 2,915 meters. Its habitat is associated with sunken wood, and it is considered a chemosymbiotroph — deriving energy from chemosynthetic symbionts.
Biology
Leptogyra eritmeta exhibits sexual reproduction and uses mucus-mediated gliding for locomotion. Members of the order Neomphalida are mostly gonochoric (separate sexes) and broadcast spawners, with embryos developing into planktonic trochophore larvae and later into juvenile veligers.
References
- Bush, K. (1897). Revision of the marine gastropods referred to Cyclostrema, Adeorbis, Vitrinella and related genera. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. 10: 97–144.
- Hess H., Beck F., Gensler H., Kano Y., Kiel S. & Haszprunar G. (2008). "Microanatomy, shell structure and molecular phylogeny of Leptogyra, Xyleptogyra and Leptogyropsis (Gastropoda: Neomphalida: Melanodrymiidae) from sunken wood". Journal of Molluscan Studies 74(4): 383–401. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eyn030.
- World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS): Leptogyra eritmeta K. J. Bush, 1897. AphiaID: 159899.
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS): Leptogyra eritmeta Bush, 1897. TSN: 70291.
