Aspects of reproduction, larval development, and morphometrics in the pyramidellid, Boonea impressa (=Odostomia impressa), (gastropoda: opisthobranchia).

Boonea impressa is an important ectoparasite of the American oyster, crassostrea virginica. As a parasite, their impact on host population dynamics and subsequent changes in community structure may be important. Here, the reproductive and larval life history, intraspecific variation in certain shell characters, and the internal anatomy of the feeding apparatus are described for populations of B. impressa from the Western Gulf of Mexico (Texas) and, for the latter two subjects, the western Atlantic (North Carolina). Larval development in the pyramidellidae is reviewed.