Teretriphora facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Teretriphora |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| (unranked): |
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda informal group Ptenoglossa |
| Superfamily: |
Triphoroidea
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| Family: |
Triphoridae
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| Genus: |
Teretriphora
Finlay, 1927
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| Species | |
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See text |
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| Synonyms | |
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Distophora Laseron, 1958 |
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Teretriphora is a group of very tiny sea snails. These amazing creatures live in the ocean and are a type of mollusk. They belong to a special family of snails called Triphoridae.
Contents
What are Teretriphora?
Teretriphora snails are part of a larger group known as gastropods. Gastropods are a big class of animals that includes all snails and slugs. They are known for moving on a single, muscular "foot." Teretriphora are marine snails, which means they live only in saltwater environments.
Tiny Ocean Dwellers
These snails are usually very small, often just a few millimeters long. They spend their lives crawling on the seabed or on other marine life. Like many snails, they have a hard shell that protects their soft bodies. Their shells are often shaped like a spiral.
Meet the Family: Triphoridae
Teretriphora belongs to the Triphoridae family. This family is special because most of its members have shells that spiral to the left. This is unusual, as most snail shells spiral to the right! Scientists use these unique features to tell different snail families apart.
What is a Genus?
In biology, a genus is a way to group very similar living things together. Think of it like a last name for a group of animals. So, all the different kinds of Teretriphora snails share the "last name" Teretriphora because they are closely related.
Different Kinds of Teretriphora
Scientists have discovered several different species within the Teretriphora genus. Each species is a unique type of snail, even though they share many features. Here are some of the known species:
- Teretriphora distorta (Laseron, 1958)
- Teretriphora gemmegens (Verco, 1909)
- Teretriphora huttoni Suter, 1908
- Teretriphora novapostrema (Verco, 1910)
- Teretriphora ponderorum Marshall, 1983
- Teretriphora spica (Verco, J.C., 1909)
Sometimes, a species might be moved to a different genus if new information is found. For example, Teretriphora kesteveni (Hedley, 1902) is now known as Latitriphora kesteveni (Hedley, 1903). This shows how science is always learning more about the natural world!
