Scutus

Scutus
	a live Scutus sinensis
	Dorsal view of a shell of Scutus breviculus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Vetigastropoda
Order:	Lepetellida
Family:	Fissurellidae
Subfamily:	Emarginulinae
Genus:	Scutus; Blainville, 1817
Type species
	Scutus antipodes; Montfort, 1810
Synonyms
	Aviscutum Iredale, 1940; Nannoscutum Iredale, 1937; Parmophorus Blainville, 1817 (unnecessary substitute name for Scutus); Scutum P. Fischer, 1885 (invalid: unjustified emendation of Scutus); Scutus (Aviscutum) Iredale, 1940;

Scutus is a genus of large sea snails or limpets with the common name "shield shells". These are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets and slit limpets.^[1]

Both the common name and the scientific name reflect the fact that the shells of species in this genus resemble a Roman shield.

Description

The animal itself has a large black mantle which usually completely covers the shell, giving the animal a superficially slug-like appearance.

Species within the genus Scutus include:^[2]

Scutus ambiguus (Dillwyn, 1817): synonym of Scutus anatinus (Donovan, 1820)
Scutus angustatus A. Adams, 1851: synonym of Scutus unguis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Scutus astrolabeus Hedley, 1917: synonym of Scutus anatinus (Donovan, 1820)
Scutus australis (Lamarck, 1822): synonym of Scutus anatinus (Donovan, 1820)
Scutus corrugatus (Reeve, 1842): synonym of Scutus unguis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Scutus elongatus (Blainville, 1817): synonym of Scutus antipodes Montfort, 1810
Scutus granulatus (Blainville, 1819): synonym of Scutus unguis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Scutus parunguis Iredale, 1940: synonym of Scutus unguis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Scutus savignyi Pallary, 1926: synonym of Scutus rueppeli (Philippi, 1851)
Scutus veitchi (Cotton, 1953): synonym of Scutus antipodes Montfort, 1810

^ ^a ^b Bouchet, P. (2012). Scutus Montfort, 1810. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=204176 on 2013-01-20
^ Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
^ Worldwide Mollusc Species Sata Base: Scutus scapha

Moore, R.C. (ed.) 1960. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part I. Mollusca 1. Boulder, Colorado & Lawrence, Kansas : Geological Society of America & University of Kansas Press xxiii + 351 pp.
Christiaens J. (1986). The Recent and fossil shells of the genus Scutus Montfort, 1810. Gloria Maris, 25(1):1-28
Wilson, B. 1993. Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods. Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp.
Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y. (1999) Catalogue and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Japan. Elle Scientific Publications, Yao, Japan, 749 pp.
Geiger, D.L. & Thacker, C.E. 2005. Molecular phylogeny of Vetigastropoda reveals non-monophyletic Scissurellidae, Trochoidea, and Fissurelloidea. Molluscan Research 25(1): 47-55
Aktipis, S.W., Boehm, E. & Giribet, G. 2011. Another step towards understanding the slit-limpets (Fissurellidae, Fissurelloidea, Vetigastropoda, Gastropoda): a combined five-gene molecular phylogeny. Zoologica Scripta 40(3): 238-259