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Researched by | Emily Wilson | Refereed by | This information is not refereed |
Authority | Ascanius, 1772 | ||
Other common names | - | Synonyms | - |
Philine quadripartita is 1 to 3 cm in length and white in colour. The soft body is divided into four lobes: a frontal 'cephalic' shield, a posterior shield, and two parapodial lobes either side of the body. The body is white. The cephalic shield is longer than the posterior shield. The posterior sheild has a small internal shell that can be felt at the hind end of the animal. This species characteristically secretes sulphuric acid as a defence against predators.
Records of Philine quadripartita in the British Isles were misidentified as Philine aperta (Price et al., 2011). Outwardly, most species of Philine are very similar in morphology and a detailed examination of their internal anatomy, especially the shape of the internal shell, gizzard and penial papilla, is required to differentiate the species (Price et al., 2011). Philine aperta is recorded from South Africa and Mozambique.
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Phylum | Mollusca | Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid |
Class | Gastropoda | Snails, slugs & sea butterflies |
Order | Cephalaspidea | Bubble snails |
Family | Philinidae | |
Genus | Philine | |
Authority | Ascanius, 1772 | |
Recent Synonyms |
Typical abundance | Moderate density | ||
Male size range | 3 cm | ||
Male size at maturity | |||
Female size range | Small (1-2 cm) | ||
Female size at maturity | |||
Growth form | Globose | ||
Growth rate | Data deficient | ||
Body flexibility | Low (10-45 degrees) | ||
Mobility | Burrower | ||
Characteristic feeding method | Predator | ||
Diet/food source | Carnivore | ||
Typically feeds on | Pectinaria koreni, Echinocyamus pusillus, foraminiferans, and small infaunal lamellibranchs and gastropods. | ||
Sociability | Solitary | ||
Environmental position | Infaunal | ||
Dependency | Independent. | ||
Supports | No information | ||
Is the species harmful? | Yes Sulphuric acid secretion from the skin give it some protection from predators, which include fish. |
Physiographic preferences | Data deficient |
Biological zone preferences | Lower eulittoral, Sublittoral fringe, Upper infralittoral |
Substratum / habitat preferences | Fine clean sand, Muddy sand, Sandy mud |
Tidal strength preferences | |
Wave exposure preferences | |
Salinity preferences | Data deficient |
Depth range | 0-500m |
Other preferences | No text entered |
Migration Pattern | No information found |
Reproductive type | Permanent (synchronous) hermaphrodite | |
Reproductive frequency | Annual episodic | |
Fecundity (number of eggs) | 10,000-100,000 | |
Generation time | Insufficient information | |
Age at maturity | Insufficient information | |
Season | April - August | |
Life span | 2-5 years |
Larval/propagule type | - |
Larval/juvenile development | Planktotrophic |
Duration of larval stage | 1-6 months |
Larval dispersal potential | Greater than 10 km |
Larval settlement period | Insufficient information |
The MarLIN sensitivity assessment approach used below has been superseded by the MarESA (Marine Evidence-based Sensitivity Assessment) approach (see menu). The MarLIN approach was used for assessments from 1999-2010. The MarESA approach reflects the recent conservation imperatives and terminology and is used for sensitivity assessments from 2014 onwards.
Intolerance | Recoverability | Sensitivity | Evidence/Confidence | |
High | High | Moderate | Moderate | |
Philine quadripartita is an infaunal species and so loss of substratum would result in loss of the population. Intolerance is therefore, assessed as High. Recovery would be high due to the fast growth, fast reproductive rates of the species and recolonization from other areas as the species is common where it occurs. | ||||
Tolerant | Not relevant | Not sensitive | Moderate | |
Philine quadripartita lives just beneath the surface of the sediment and is capable of moving through it. Therefore, smothering by a layer of 5 cm would have little or no effect on the species and a rank of not sensitive is recorded. Impermeable materials, such as concrete, oil or tar, are likely to have a greater effect. | ||||
Tolerant | Not relevant | Not sensitive | Moderate | |
Philine quadripartita is a carnivore and lives buried under the sediment surface, therefore an increase in suspended sediments is unlikely to have an effect on the population or the burrowing organisms that they feed on. | ||||
No information | ||||
Not relevant | Not relevant | Not relevant | Moderate | |
The subtidal position and soft-bodied nature of this species suggests that it is unlikely to tolerate desiccation. However, the species is sufficiently mobile and capable of burrowing therefore, it is likely to be able to move to an area which is more favourable. Recovery would be high, provided conditions were suitable, due to the fast growth, fast reproductive rates of the species and recolonization from other areas as the species is common where it occurs. | ||||
Not relevant | Not relevant | Not relevant | Moderate | |
The subtidal position and soft-bodied nature of this species suggests that it is unlikely to tolerate emersion as it would suffer desiccation. However, the species is sufficiently mobile and capable of burrowing therefore, it is likely to be able to move to an area which is more favourable. Recovery would be high due, provided conditions were suitable, to the fast growth, fast reproductive rates of the species and recolonization from other areas as the species is common where it occurs. | ||||
No information | ||||
High | High | Moderate | Moderate | |
The species is found predominantly on finer sediments which are associated with sheltered locations. Increased water flow rate is likely to change the nature of sediment and hence the character of the habitat as fine particles are washed away. Increased water flow rate could also sweep adults away and so intolerance is recorded as high. | ||||
No information | ||||
Low | High | Low | Low | |
Spawning, hatching and time to metamorphosis are all temperature dependent. Spawning occurs during the warmest months of the year (April to August) (Lancaster, 1983). Laboratory results showed hatching occurred after 3.5 days at 23°C and 8 days at 13°C (Thompson, 1976) and time to metamorphosis occurred after 35-40 days at 12-13°C and 30 days at 15°C (Hansen & Ockelmann, 1991). A change in temperature at the benchmark level would be unlikely to have lethal effects however, and an intolerance of low is recorded. Colder temperatures would delay development and recruitment to a population. | ||||
No information | ||||
Tolerant | Not relevant | Not sensitive | Moderate | |
Neither the species or the burrowing organisms on which it lives are dependant on light availability, so it would not be affected by a change in turbidity. | ||||
No information | ||||
High | High | Moderate | Moderate | |
The species is found predominantly on finer sediments which are associated with wave sheltered locations. Increased wave exposure is likely to erode fine sediments and displace adult Philine quadripartita. Intolerance to wave exposure is therefore assessed as High. | ||||
No information | ||||
Tolerant | Not relevant | Not sensitive | Low | |
The species probably has very limited capacity for noise perception. | ||||
Tolerant | Not relevant | Not sensitive | Low | |
The species probably has very limited capacity for visual perception. | ||||
Intermediate | High | Low | Moderate | |
The species is soft bodied and has a delicate internal shell and therefore likely to be damaged on impact by a passing scallop dredge. Therefore, a proportion of the population is likely to be lost and an intolerance of intermediate has been recorded. Recovery would be high due to the fast growth, fast reproductive rates of the species and recolonization from other areas, as the species is common. | ||||
Tolerant | Not relevant | Not sensitive | Moderate | |
Philine quadripartita is sufficiently mobile to be able to deal with displacement provided a suitable substratum is found. |
Intolerance | Recoverability | Sensitivity | Evidence/Confidence | |
No information | No information | No information | Not relevant | |
Insufficient information | ||||
No information | No information | No information | Not relevant | |
Insufficient information | ||||
No information | No information | No information | Not relevant | |
Insufficient information | ||||
No information | No information | No information | Not relevant | |
Insufficient information | ||||
No information | No information | No information | Not relevant | |
Insufficient information | ||||
No information | No information | No information | Not relevant | |
Insufficient information | ||||
No information | ||||
No information | No information | No information | Not relevant | |
Insufficient information |
Intolerance | Recoverability | Sensitivity | Evidence/Confidence | |
No information | No information | No information | Not relevant | |
Insufficient information | ||||
No information | No information | No information | Not relevant | |
Insufficient information | ||||
Not relevant | Not relevant | Not relevant | Low | |
It is extremely unlikely that this species would be subject to extraction as it has no commercial and limited research value. A small number may removed or damaged by benthic trawls and dredges. | ||||
Tolerant | Not relevant | Not sensitive | Low | |
Philine quadripartita has no known obligate relationships. |
- no data -
National (GB) importance | - | Global red list (IUCN) category | - |
Native | - | ||
Origin | - | Date Arrived | - |
Fish, J.D. & Fish, S., 1996. A student's guide to the seashore. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hansen, B. & Ockelmann, K.W., 1991. Feeding behaviour in larvae of the opisthobranch Philine aperta. I. Growth and functional response at the different developmental stages. Marine Biology, 111, 255-261.
Hansen, B., 1991. Feeding behaviour in larvae of the opisthobranch Philine aperta. II. Food size spectra and particle selectivity in relation to larval behaviour and morphology of the velar structures. Marine Biology, 111, 263-270.
Hayward, P., Nelson-Smith, T. & Shields, C. 1996. Collins pocket guide. Sea shore of Britain and northern Europe. London: HarperCollins.
Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (ed.) 1995b. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]
Lancaster, S.M., 1983. The biology and reproductive ecology of Philine aperta (Opisthobranchia: Bullomorpha) in Oxwich Bay. Journal of Molluscan Studies, Suppl. 12A, 82-88.
Price, R.M., Gosliner, T.M. & Valdes, A., 2011. Systematics and phylogeny of Philine (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia), with emphasis on the Philine aperta species complex. Veliger, 51 (2), 1-58.
Thompson, T. E. & Brown, G. H., 1976. British Opisthobranch Molluscs. London: Academic Press. [Synopses of the British Fauna, no. 8.]
Thompson, T.E., 1976. Biology of Opisthobranch Molluscs, vol. 1. London: The Ray Society.
NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.
OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System), 2023. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2023-04-01
This review can be cited as:
Last Updated: 14/08/2018