Carinaria

Carinaria is a genus of medium-sized floating sea snails, pelagic gastropod molluscs in the family Carinariidae.

Anatomy
The cylindrical and elongate body consists of three parts : a short proboscis, a well-developed trunk and tail region of variable size. The size of this tail goes from very small in Carinaria galea to very large in Carinaria cristata. The well-developed swimming fin is located in both sexes at the back of the trunk and has at its back margin a small fin sucker. The right tentacle is small or vestigial. The cuticle is thick and gelatinous. The shells are known as “Venus slippers.”

Species
The World Register of Marine Species includes the following species within the genus Carinaria:


 * Carinaria cithara Benson, 1835 – harp carinaria
 * Carinaria cristata (Linnaeus, 1767) – Indo-Pacific
 * Carinaria galea Benson, 1835 – helmet carinaria; Indo-Pacific
 * Carinaria japonica Okutani, 1955 – Japan, North Pacific
 * Carinaria lamarckii Blainville, 1817
 * Carinaria pseudorugosa Vayssière, 1904
 * Species brought into synonymy:


 * Carinaria atlantica Adams & Reeve, 1850: synonym of Carinaria lamarckii Blainville, 1817
 * Carinaria australis Quoy & Gaimard, 1833: synonym of Carinaria lamarckii Blainville, 1817
 * Carinaria challengeri Bonnevie, 1920: synonym of Carinaria pseudorugosa Vayssière, 1904
 * Carinaria grimaldii Vayssière, 1904: synonym of Carinaria lamarckii Blainville, 1817
 * Carinaria lamarcki Péron & Lesueur, 1810: synonym of Carinaria lamarckii Blainville, 1817
 * Carinaria mediterranea Blainville, 1825: synonym of Carinaria lamarckii Blainville, 1817
 * Carinaria punctata d'Orbigny, 1836: synonym of Carinaria lamarckii Blainville, 1817