Ringicula doliaris
Gould, 1860

Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Family: Ringiculidae

DISTRIBUTION

Described from Sydney Harbour. Its range is unknown. There are many lots of Ringicula in museum collections and many names. Until the taxonomy is sorted out we can't say much about distributions.

PHOTO

entrance to Middle Harbour, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, 13m, July 1983. Dredged in soft sand. PHOTO: Bill Rudman.

The ringiculids are amongst the most "snail-like" of the bubble shells with a high spired heavily calcified shell. The body has the characteristic cephalaspidean "head shield" which is developed into a posterior median funnel or siphon. The opening of this can be clearly seen in the photo, surrounded by brown spots.

Ringiculids have a long fossil history at least back to the Cretaceous. Species are found in most seas of the world but little is known of the anatomy of more than three or four species. We know little about their biology or natural history, although Fretter (1960) notes that R. buccinea feeds on copepods and perhaps foraminiferans. Species are considered to be burrowers in fine sand and mud and species are found from the intertidal to over 5000m.

Reference:
• Fretter, V. (1960) Observations on the tectibranch Ringicula buccinea (Brocchi). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 135: 537-549.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 1998 (December 4) Ringicula doliaris Gould, 1860. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/ringdoli

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