Fowlerina punctata (Tesch, 1903)

Overview

This is a naked pelagic snail, up to 0.6 cm long, with a mainly transparent body showing the visceral mass through the body wall. The shape is rounded. The lateral footlobes are well developed, the posterior one is small. It hunts shelled pteropods as food, and lives in the N-Atlantic in the upper water layers (Fowlerina punctata).

Taxonomic Description

Head large but not elongate. Integument unpigmented, transparent, with relatively large chromatophores of a dark colour. The posterior footlobe is very small, but a well developed median tubercle is present. The visceral mass does not reach the posterior body pole, and fills only two thirds of the body. The visceral mass is yellow and marked by black chromatophores at its top. The male copulatory organ bears numerous spines. One pair of buccal cones is present, which are composed of a thickened stalk and round top covered by papillae. The radula formula is 4-1-4, the median plate is unicuspoid. The hook sacs each contain about 13 hooks. The jaw is composed of about 12 spines placed in a semi-circle.
Body length up to 6 mm.

Juveniles

A special description is not available.

Reproduction

This species is a protandric hermaphrodite.

Ecology

This species is a carnivore.

Distribution

It is sympatric with Fowlerina zetesios in the NE-Atlantic, but occurs somewhat further southwards, and does not reflect its typical Atlanto-Mediterranean centre type of distribution. The record in the Indonesian waters, however, points to a wider distribution. See the Fowlerina punctata map.

Types

Clione punctata Tesch, 1903: 116 (1904), pl. 6, figs. 142-143.
Holotype: ZMAN (alcohol collection) u.s.
Type locality: Near Daram Island (Indo-Malayan Arch). Coll.: Siboga, stat. 165.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Subclass Euthyneura
Order Gymnosomata
Suborder Gymnosomata
Family Clionidae
Subfamily Clioninae
Genus Fowlerina
Species Fowlerina punctata

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Fowlerina punctata (Tesch, 1903)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Fowlerina punctata (Tesch, 1903)

Synonyms

Clione punctata n. sp. Tesch, 1903: 116
Fowlerina punctata Pelseneer, 1906: 150
Fowlerina zetesios part Tesch, 1913c: 131
Fowlerina punctata part Pruvot-Fol, 1926: 35

Pelseneer, P. and Fowler, G. H., 1906. Biscayan plankton collected during a cruise of H. M. S. 'Research', 1900, 7. Mollusca (excluding Cephalopoda). With a note on their distribution. Trans. Linn. Soc. London 2 (Zool.) 10(5): 137-157, pls 10-12.

Pruvot-Fol, A., 1926. Mollusques ptéropodes gymnosomes provenant des campagnes du Prince Albert Ier de Monaco. Résult. Camp. Sci. accompl. sur son yacht par Albert Ier 70: 1-60, 3 pls.

Tesch, J. J., 1903. Vorläufige Mitteilung über die Thecosomata und Gymnosomata der Siboga-Expedition. Tijdsch. Nederl. Dierk. Ver. (2)8(2): 111-117.

Tesch, J. J., 1904. The Thecosomata and Gymnosomata of the Siboga Expedition. Siboga Rep. 52: 1-92, 156 figs.

Tesch, J. J., 1913c. Mollusca, Pteropoda. In: F. E. Schulze. Das Tierreich. Eine Zusammenstellung und Kennzeichnung der rezenten Tierformen 36. Berlin (Friedberger and Sohn): i-xvi, 1-154, 108 figs.

Tesch, J. J., 1950a. The Gymnosomata. 2. Dana Rep. 6(36): 1-55, 37 figs.

Spoel, S. van der, 1972a. A taxonomic outline of the Gymnosomata (Mollusca). Basteria 36 (2-5): 75-88.

Spoel, S. van der, 1976c. Pseudothecosomata, Gymnosomata and Heteropoda. Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema, Utrecht. 484 pp. 246 figs.

Spoel, S. van der, 1983a. Patterns in plankton distribution and their relation to speciation. The dawn of pelagic biogeography. In: Sims, R. W., Price, J. H. and Whalley, P. E. S. (Eds). Evolution, time and space: the emergence of the biosphere. London, Acad. Press: 291-334.

Spoel, S. van der, 1988. Patterns in plankton distribution and their relation to speciation. The dawn of pelagic biogeography. In: R. W. Sims, J. H. Price and P. E. S. Whalley (Eds) [S. I. Golovania et al(transl.)] . Evolution, time and space: the emergence of the biosphere. Moskva, Progress: 251-290.

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