The two main groups of pteropods

Pteropods are split into two major groups: shelled sea butterflies (left) and sea angels (right) that lose their shell when they reach adulthood. These creatures have adapted from a life on the sea floor to a life in the open ocean, with their muscular foot transformed into two wing-like structures, which they use to “fly” up and down through the water. While sea butterflies graze using a mucus web to catch microscopic plankton, sea angels are carnivorous and prey exclusively on the sea butterflies.
Pteropods are split into two major groups: shelled sea butterflies (left) and sea angels (right) that lose their shell when they reach adulthood. These creatures have adapted from a life on the sea floor to a life in the open ocean, with their muscular foot transformed into two wing-like structures, which they use to “fly” up and down through the water. While sea butterflies graze using a mucus web to catch microscopic plankton, sea angels are carnivorous and prey exclusively on the sea butterflies.
Copyright OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 沖縄科学技術大学院大学). Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
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