Philine auriformis
Suter, 1909

Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Family: Philinidae

DISTRIBUTION

Common throughout New Zealand both intertidally and in deeper water. Thought to have been introduced to California but shown in Sea Slug Forum to be a case of mistaken identity.

PHOTO

Shell and gizzard plates of specimen from Manukau Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand, July 1968. Gizzard plates slightly shrunken after 30 years of drying out. Scale: 10mm. Photo: Bill Rudman.

RELATED TOPIC

Philine in California

Reference:
• Suter, H.H. (1909). Descriptions of new species and subspecies of New Zealand Mollusca, with notes on a few species. Proceedings of the Malacological Society, 8(4): 253-265, pl. 11

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 1998 (August 10) Philine auriformis Suter, 1909. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/philauri

Related messages


Lifecycle of Philine auriformis

September 16, 2000
From: Michelle Chow

Hi Dr. Rudman
I am finally finishing up my thesis on the introduced Philine in California. However I was wondering if you could provide a reference or some information on Philine auriformis. My understanding and observations lead me to think that P. auriformis is an annual. Unfortunately, I have searched through all my literature and can't find anyone who states the above fact.
Any suggestions?

P.S. Note my changed email address
Cheers,
Michelle

mmchow@ucdavis.edu

Chow, M., 2000 (Sep 16) Lifecycle of Philine auriformis. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3014

Dear Michelle,
Glad to hear your thesis is nearing completion. I look forward to you publishing your results. Concerning the life span of P. auriformis. I know of no study on its life history. We assume that many of these animals are annuals but it's going to take a lot of time to prove it. Morton & Chiu's (1990) paper on P. orientalis summarise the very little factual information we have on Philine life span which is not much. Anything you can add wil be very welcome.

Morton, B. & Chiu, S.T., 1990. The diet, prey size and consumption of Philine orientalis (Opisthobranchia: Philinidae) in Hong Kong. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 56: 289-299.

Sorry I can't help more,
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Sep 16). Comment on Lifecycle of Philine auriformis by Michelle Chow . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3014

Philine auriformis radula

August 10, 1998
From: Bill Rudman

Here are some SEM photos of the radular teeth of Philine auriformis. I have posted a comparison between the size of the radula of this species and the Californian species with which it has been identified.

UPPER: inner radular tooth from the right side.

LOWER: view from side of the radular ribbon showing the small reduced outer radular teeth.

PHOTOS: Alison Miller.

As I have discussed under the Californian species , differences in the penial anatomy and size of radular teeth show that the Californian species cannot be identified with Philine auriformis. .. Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Aug 10). Comment on Philine auriformis radula by Bill Rudman. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/201

On Philine auriformis

July 30, 1998
From: Bill Rudman

Philine auriformis is found throughout New Zealand. It has recently been considered to have "invaded" California but as I have shown elsewhere in the Sea Slug Forum this is a case of mistaken identity. This species has three equal-sized symmetrical gizzard plates which have a pair of semi-circular pits on the outside. The shell has a characteristic sculpture consisting of spiral rows of microscopic oval pits which can be seen in the photo alongside. The radular formula is 1.1.0.1.1 and the penis has a very prominent coiled and tangled prostate gland. Aspects of its anatomy and biology have been published before:

Rudman, W.B., 1970. A revision of the genus Philine in New Zealand with descriptions of two new species (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia). Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia 2(1): 23-34.

Rudman, W.B., 1972a. Structure and functioning of the gut in the Bullomorpha. (Opisthobranchia) Part 3. Philinidae. Journal of Natural History 6(4): 459-74.

Rudman, W.B., 1972b. The genus Philine (Opisthobranchia, Gastropoda). Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 40(3): 171-87.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Jul 30). Comment on On Philine auriformis by Bill Rudman. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/177