Biodiversity & Conservation

Lobe shell - Philine aperta - General information

Philine aperta

Image Keith Hiscock - Philine aperta on sediment surface. Image width ca 15cm.
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Distribution map

Philine aperta recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Philine aperta is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Emily Wilson Text page icon Refereed by: This information is not refereed.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Gastropoda Snails, slugs & sea butterflies
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland At a few recorded locations all around the British Isles.
Habitat information icon Habitat information A sublittoral sea slug spending most of its life beneath the surface of the sand/muddy sand in which it seeks its prey.
Text page icon Description Philine aperta can grow up to 7 cm long, 3.5 cm wide and has a small internal shell that can be felt at the hind end of the animal. The soft body is four-lobed and whitish to pale yellow in colour with white dots. This species characteristically secretes sulphuric acid as a defence against predators.

This review can be cited as follows:

Emily Wilson 2000. Philine aperta. Lobe shell. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=4093>