Atys sp. 1

Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Superfamily: HAMINOEOIDEA
Family: Haminoeidae

PHOTO

east side of Vava'u, Tonga, 19 February 2001, on a sand slope with grass, 5 meters deep. Approx 12mm long. Photo: Don Barclay.

The use of Atys as a genus name for this species is for convenience. As you will see from the correspondence below the taxonomy of these 'atyiid' bubble-shells is very confused. Many names have been given to empty shells, and from the work of Clay Carlson, Patty Jo Hoff, and others on their anatomy, it is clear that there are many species, often in different genera, with very similarly shaped shells.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2001 (March 26) Atys sp. 1 [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/atyssp1

Related messages


Re: Don's Shell

March 27, 2001
From: Clay Carlson

Bill,
I'm afraid we can't be of much help on this one. We would have to dissect for the male system and then couldn't say much more than whether or not we had it in our collection. A number of years ago we thought we had A. cylindrica on Guam. Once we started looking more closely, it turned out we had wet material for at least 5 whitish sand dwellers in the
over 10 mm range --none of them A. cylindrica. So far we have a name for
only one.
Clay

clay.carlson@kuentos.guam.net

Carlson, C., 2001 (Mar 27) Re: Don's Shell. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4017

Thanks Clay
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Mar 27). Comment on Re: Don's Shell by Clay Carlson . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4017

Re: Atys ? from Tonga

March 20, 2001
From: Don Barclay

Hi again, Bill,
Here are a couple of photos of the Tongan Atys shell. Maybe they will help you or Clay and Patty Jo put a name on it.
Cheers,
Don

n5ols@samoatelco.com

Barclay, D., 2001 (Mar 20) Re: Atys ? from Tonga. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4010

Thanks Don,
Bill Rudman

Atys ? from Tonga

March 15, 2001
From: Don Barclay

Hello Bill,
Here is a pic of what I have been calling Atys cylindrica. It was collected the night of 19 February 2001 on a sand slope with grass, five meters deep, on the east side of Vava'u, Tonga. When touched, the animal unfurled the flaps on its head and attempted to swim away.

This one doesn't look exactly like the beautiful pic of A. cylindrica that you posted on the Forum. Is it the same species?

The shell measured ~12mm long, though I have found shells there that are very similar but quite a bit larger, around 25mm.

Thanks again,
Don

n5ols@samoatelco.com

Barclay, D., 2001 (Mar 15) Atys ? from Tonga. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3889

Dear Don,
I don't think it is Atys cylindrica, but because these species are normally studied as 'shells' we normally need to have a look at the shell to be sure. Perhaps Clay Carlson, with his vast knowledge of these 'shells' as animals, will be able to give some advice
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman