On Philine angasi

July 30, 1998
From: Bill Rudman

Philine angasi is a relatively large species growing to over 15cm in length. It crushes bivalves with its large calcareous gizzard plates. This species belongs to a group of species, including Philine aperta from Europe and Philine orientalis from the northwest Pacific which have two large plates which are mirror images of each other, and a third smaller plate which is bilaterally symmetrical.

The Upper photo alongside shows that in this species, the two larger gizzard plates are similar in size to the shell (Scale = 10 mm)
The Middle photo shows the two pinholes in the outside of a gizzard plate.
The Lower photo shows the smooth shell lacking any sign of sculpture other than growth lines.  Photos: Bill Rudman. (Cheltenham Beach, Auckland, New Zealand, December, 1966).

Further information on the anatomy of this species can be found in:

• 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.

Bill Rudman.

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