Marine Species Identification Portal : Clione limacina limacina filifera

Clione limacina (Phipps, 1774) subsp. limacina (Phipps, 1774) forma filifera Pruvot-Fol, 1926

Overview

This is a naked pelagic snail, up to 1.5 cm long, with a mainly transparent body that only shows orange/red colouration in the tail, tentacles and mouth organs. It is characterised by the very long buccal cones. The reddish-brown visceral mass is seen through the body wall. It is a rather quick swimmer that hunts shelled pteropods as food. It lives in the N-Atlantic Ocean in the upper water layers where it is rather rare (Clione l.l. filifera).

Taxonomic Description

This forma is closely related to the forma gracilis. The three footlobes are moderately developed. The wings are very large as in the forma minuta. The buccal cones have filaments 3 to 4 times longer than the buccal cones themselves (Clione l.l. filifera buccal), and sometimes a buccal cone has two such filaments. The original description stated: the most ventral cones have no filaments, the median cones have two filaments of different lengths, the dorsal cones have one filament each. The cones are triangular and laterally flattened. The filaments have circular and longitudinal muscles and are covered by a glandular epithelium. The hooks are of different sizes as in the forma limacina. The visceral mass is orange-red and occupies about 1/3 of the total body length. The wings are very large. The radula formula is 3-1-3 (Clione l.l. filifera radula).
Maximum body length 15 mm.

Juveniles

A special description is not available.

Reproduction

This form is a protandric hermaphrodite.

Ecology

This form is a carnivore.

Distribution

This form is found in the N-Atlantic. See also the explanation of distribution under C.l.l. limacina and the Clione l.l. filifera map.

Types

Clione filifera Pruvot-Fol, 1926: 24, pl. 2, figs. 38, 38a, pl. 3, figs. 89-90.
Types: not preserved in MOM.
Type locality: 58°50'N 4°50'E, surface. Coll.: CPAE, stat. 2799.

Clione limacina limacina filifera