Pupa coccinata
(Reeve, 1842)
Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Superfamily: ACTEONOIDEA
Family: Acteonidae
DISTRIBUTION
Found throughout the tropical Indo-West Pacific, living in coral sand.
PHOTO
Shell length: 25mm. Koumac, New Caledonia, October 1993. PHOTO: Bill Rudman.
RELATED TOPIC
Note the head shield spilt into two large flaps by the medial groove. These flaps cover the opening to the mantle cavity and so protect it from becoming blocked with sand when the animal is burrowing. Like all species of Pupa the animal is relatively small and colourless, and it feeds on polychaete worms.
Reference:
• Reeve, L., (1842). Monograph of the genus `Tornatella', a small group of Pectinibranchiate Molluscs of the family Plicacea, including descriptions of seven new species from the collection of H.Cuming Esq. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 10: 58-62.
Rudman, W.B., 1998 (December 18) Pupa coccinata (Reeve, 1842). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/pupacocc