Philine aperta

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Species of gastropod

title: "Philine aperta" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["philinidae", "gastropods-described-in-1767", "animal-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus"] description: "Species of gastropod" topic_path: "general/philinidae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philine_aperta" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of gastropod ::

| image = sand_slug.jpg | image_caption = A close-up of a live Philine aperta | genus = Philine | species = aperta | authority = (Linnaeus, 1767) | synonyms_ref = | synonyms =

  • Bulla aperta Linnaeus, 1767 (original combination)
  • Bulla schroeteri R. A. Philippi, 1844
  • Bullaea capensis L. Pfeiffer, 1840
  • Bullaea schroeteri R. A. Philippi, 1844 junior subjective synonym

Philine aperta, the sand slug, is a species of predatory sea slug with an internal shell, a cephalaspid opisthobranch, or head-shield slug. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Philinidae.

Taxonomy

Philine aperta and Philine quadripartita have long been treated as synonyms. However, according to Price et al. (2011), based on anatomy, there are two distinct species, the first one in South Africa and Mozambique, the second one in European seas.

Distribution

This species can be found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from northern Europe to southern Africa and is also found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It lives subtidally to several hundreds of metres underwater; in tropical waters it is found in deeper water. In southern Africa it occurs from Saldanha Bay, West coast to Mozambique, subtidal to 100 m.

Description

The body length of the adult is 60–70 mm, up to 100 mm.

Philine aperta is a sturdy, solid-bodied animal, white to cream in colour, with an internal shell and a folded appearance. It grows up to 100 mm in length.

The shell is internal and fully covered by the animal’s body. The body is divided into a head shield, which is flattened for burrowing in sandy substrates, a posterior shield that overlies the viscera and internal shell, and two lateral lobes, one on each side. The internal shell is thin and translucent.

The somewhat translucent animal is uniformly milky white to yellowish.

Ecology

Philine aperta is an active, sand-dwelling, predatory species; it eats small molluscs and worms which are swallowed whole, and then crushed in its gizzard. The animal secretes sulphuric acid to deter predators.

Its egg masses are translucent, sausage-shaped and are attached to sandy bottoms by long mucous threads.

References

References

  1. {{WRMS species. 140744. ''Philine apertae'' (Linnaeus, 1767). 26 October 2024
  2. GOSLINER, T.M. 1987. ''Nudibranchs of Southern Africa'' {{ISBN. 0-930118-13-8
  3. ZSILAVECZ, G. 2007. ''Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay''. {{ISBN. 0-620-38054-3
  4. (2018). "Phylum Mollusca. In: Atkinson, L.J. and Sink, K.J. (eds) Field Guide to the Offshore Marine Invertebrates of South Africa". Malachite Marketing and Media.

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