Philine auriformis?
Species 2 from California.

Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Family: Philinidae

DISTRIBUTION

This is one of two species of Philine recently introduced to California from an unknown source. Initially both were identified as Philine auriformis but we now know there are at least two species present, and it unlikely that either is Philine auriformis.

PHOTO

UPPER: Shell and gizzard plates of a specimen sent by Michelle Chow from Bodega Bay, California, July 1998. Scale is 10mm. PHOTO: Bill Rudman.

MIDDLE: SEM photo of inner radular teeth on left side. PHOTO: Alison Miller.

LOWER: SEM photo showing two of the reduced outer teeth on right side. PHOTO: Alison Miller.

RELATED TOPIC

Philine in California

Specimens of this species were described by Gosliner (1990) and identified with Philine auriformis from New Zealand. Despite my initial suggestion to the contrary, (See July 30, 1998 message below) the anatomy of this species is as described by Gosliner. However although the basic "plumbing" of the penis is the same in both New Zealand and Californian specimens, the relative size of the penial complex, as illustrated below, is quite different, that of Californian specimens being much smaller. It is possible that the specimens from California I looked at were immature, but if so, they are larger than most mature New Zealand specimens. I have also shown below that the radular teeth of New Zealand specimens are half the size of Californian specimens. This quandary only emphasises the need for more research on the anatomy of the many species of Philine that have been described on shell alone.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 1998 (August 10) Philine auriformis? Species 2 from California.. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/philunk

Related messages

  1. The identity of Californian Philine auriformis
    From: Bill Rudman, August 10, 1998
  2. On Philine
    From: Bill Rudman, July 30, 1998

Show factsheet and all related messages