Akeroidea
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Akeroidea, the bubble shells, is a small superfamily belonging to the order Anaspidea, or Sea Hares. There is only one family, Akeridae (Pilsbry, 1893), with two genera: Anderssonia and Akera.
[edit] Genus Anderssonia
This genus contains only one species:
- Anderssonia sphinx (Strebel, 1908), occurring in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
[edit] Genus Akera
Akera is a primitive genus. These sea hares do not fit completely in their external shell. It just covers their visceral rear end. The streamlined body is designed for burrowing.
This genus contains just a few species:
- Akera bayeri (Marcus & Marcus, 1967). It can be found along the coast of Colombia and Brazil. It has not yet been described.
- Akera bullata (O.F. Müller, 1776). It is the only European representative of this species. It occurs from Norway to Canaries, and also in the Mediterranean. It is a herbivorous bottom dweller (up to 370 m deep), feeding on seagrasses of the genera Zostera and Posidonia. The body has a maximum length of about 6 cm. Its color varies from gray to orange, with white or dark specks. Its fragile and smooth shell has a white or brown color. This sea hare is not an agile swimmer. It uses its broad parapodia (fleshy protrusions), held together funnelwise above the head, to paddle away when disturbed.
- Akera soluta (Gmelin, 1791). Also called the Solute Akera, this species can be found in the Indo-West Pacific. Little is known about this species. Its shell can grow up to 45 mm in length.
