Definition
Pteropods were first described as a group in 1804 by Georges Cuvier. The name derives from the fact that the molluscan foot (−poda) has been modified to form paired swimming wings (ptero-). There are two different orders, (1) the Thecosomata, also known as “sea butterflies” with suborders Euthecosomata (shelled and with a good fossil record) and Pseudothecosomata (shelled and shell-less), and (2) the Gymnosomata (shell-less as adults), commonly known as “sea angels” (Table 1). Recent molecular studies (Klussmann-Kolb and Dinapoli, 2006; Jennings et al., 2010) provided convincing evidence that the two orders are sister groups, hence the superorder Pteropoda is now considered a taxonomic entity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Angel, M. V., 1997. Pelagic biodiversity. In Ormond, R. F. G., Gage, J. D., and Angel, M. V. (eds.), Marine Biodiversity. Patterns and Processes. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 35–68.
Bathmann, U., Noji, T. T., and von Bondungen, B., 1991. Sedimentation of pteropods in the Norwegian Sea in autumn. Deep Sea Research A, 38, 1341–1360.
Bé, A. W. H., and Gilmer, R. W., 1977. A zoogeographic and taxonomic review of Euthecosomatous Pteropoda. In Ramsay, A. T. S. (ed.), Oceanic Micropalaeontology. London: Academic, pp. 733–800.
Bé, W. H., MacClintock, C., and Currie, D. C., 1972. Helical shell structure and growth of the pteropod Cuvierina columnella (Rang) (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Biomineral Research Reports, 4, 47–79.
Bednaršek, N., Možina, J., Vogt, M., O’Brien, C., and Tarling, G. A., 2012. The global distribution of pteropods and their contribution to carbonate and carbon biomass in the modern ocean. Earth System Science Data, 4, 167–186.
Burridge, A. K., Goetze, E., Raes, N., Huisman, J., and Peijnenburg, K. T. C. A., (2015). Global biogeography and evolution of Cuvierina pteropods. BMC Evolutionary Biology 15:39. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0310-8.
Cahuzac, B., and Janssen, A. W., 2010. Eocene to miocene holoplanktonic mollusca (gastropoda) of the Aquitaine basin, southwest France. Scripta Geologica, 141, 1–193.
Chen, C., 1968a. The distribution of thecosomatous pteropods in relation to the Antarctic convergence. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 3, 155–157.
Chen, C., 1968b. Pleistocene pteropods in pelagic sediments. Nature, 210(5159), 1145–1149.
Conover, R. J., and Lalli, C. M., 1974. Feeding and growth in Clione limacina (Phipps), a pteropod mollusc, 2. Assimilation, metabolism, and growth efficiency. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 16, 131–154.
Cuvier, G., 1804. Mémoire concernant l'animal de l'Hyale, un nouveau genre de mollusques nus, intermédiaire entre l'Hyale et le Clio et l'établissement d'un nouvel ordre dans la classe des mollusques. Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire naturelle Paris, 4, 223–234.
Diester-Haass, L., 1972. Late Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentation in the central and eastern Persian Gulf. “Meteor” Forschungsergebnisse (C), 8, 37–83.
Feely, R. A., Sabine, C. L., Lee, K., Berelson, W., Kleypas, J., Fabry, V. J., and Millero, F. J., 2004. Impact of anthropogenic CO2 on the CaCO3 system in the oceans. Science, 305, 362–366.
Gannefors, C., Marco, B., Gerhard, K., Martin, G., Ketil, E., Bjørn, G., Haakon, H., and Falk-Petersen, S., 2005. The Arctic sea butterfly Limacina helicina: lipids and life strategy. Marine Biology, 147, 169–177.
Gasca, R., and Janssen, A. W., 2014. Taxonomic review, molecular data and key to the species of Creseidae from the Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 80, 35–42.
Gürs, K., and Janssen, A. W., 2004. Sea-level related molluscan plankton events (Gastropoda, Euthcosomata) during Rupelian (Early Oligocene) of the North Sea Basin. Netherlands Journal of Geoscience, 83, 199–208.
Herman, Y., and Rosenberg, P. E., 1969. Pteropods as bathymetric indicators. Marine Geology, 7, 169–173.
Hunt, B., Strugnell, J., Bednarsek, N., Linse, K., Nelson, R. J., Pakhomov, E., Seibel, B., Steinke, D., and Würzberg, L., 2010. Poles apart: the “Bipolar” Pteropod species Limacina helicina is genetically distinct between the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans. Plos One, 5(3), e983.
Janssen, A. W., and Peijnenburg, K. T. C. A., 2014. Holoplanktonic Mollusca: development in the Mediterranean Basin during the last 30 million years and their future. In Goffredo, S., and Dubinsky, Z. (eds.), The Mediterranean Sea: Its History and Present Challenges. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 341–362.
Jennings, R. M., Bucklin, A., Ossenbrügger, H., and Hopcroft, R. R., 2010. Species diversity of planktonic gastropods (Pteropoda and Heteropoda) from six ocean regions based on DNA barcode analysis. Deep-Sea Research II, 57, 2199–2210.
Klussmann-Kolb, A., and Dinapoli, A., 2006. Systematic position of the pelagic Thecosomata and Gymnosomata within Opisthobranchia (Mollusca, Gastropoda)- revival of the Pteropoda. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 44, 118–129.
Lalli, C. M., and Gilmer, R. W., 1989. Pelagic Snails. The Biology of Holoplanktonic Gastropod Mollusks. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 1–259.
Maas, A. E., Blanco-Bercial, L., and Lawson, G. L., 2013. Reexamination of the species assignment of Diacavolinia pteropods using DNA barcoding. PLoS One, 8(1), e53889, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053889.
Peijnenburg, K. T. C. A., and Goetze, E., 2013. High evolutionary potential of marine zooplankton. Ecology and Evolution, 3(8), 2765–2781, doi:10.1002/ece3.644.
Van der Spoel, S., 1967. Euthecosomata: A Group with Remarkable Developmental Stages (Gastropoda, Pteropoda). Gorinchem: J. Noorduijn en Zoon N.V., p. 375.
Van der Spoel, S., 1973. Growth, reproduction and vertical migration in Clio pyramidata Linnaeus, 1767 forma lanceolata (Lesueur, 1813) with notes on some other Cavoliniidae (Mollsuca, Pteropoda). Beaufortia, 21, 117–134.
Van der Spoel, S., and Dadon, J., 1999. Pteropoda. In Boltovskoy, D. (ed.), South Atlantic Zooplankton. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers, Vol. 1, pp. 868–1706.
Van der Spoel, S., and Diester-Haas, L., 1976. First records of fossil gymnosomatous protoconchae (Pteropoda, Gastropoda). Bulletin Zoölogisch Museum Universiteit van Amsterdam, 5, 85–88.
Van der Spoel, S., and Heyman, R. P., 1983. A Comparative Atlas of Zooplankton. Biological Patterns in the Oceans. Utrecht/Berlin: Bunge/Springer Verlag, pp. 1–186.
Van der Spoel, S., Newman, L. J., and Estep, K. W., 1997. Pelagic Molluscs of the World. http://species-identification.org/.
Wall-Palmer, D., Hart M. B., Smart C. W., Sparks R. S. J., Le Friant, A., Boudon, G., Deplus, C., and Komorowski J. C., 2012. Pteropods from the Caribbean sea: variations in calcification as an indicator of past ocean carbonate saturation. Biogeosciences 9, 309–315.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Pierrot-Bults, A.C., Peijnenburg, K.T.C.A. (2016). Pteropods. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6238-1_88
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6238-1_88
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-6237-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6238-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences