| Sand slug Philine aperta |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura |
| Superfamily: | Philinoidea |
| Family: | Philinidae |
| Genus: | Philine |
| Species: | P. aperta |
| Binomial name | |
| Philine aperta (Linnaeus, 1767) |
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The sand slug, Philine aperta, is a species of sea slug with an internal shell, a cephalaspid opisthobranch, or head-shield slug. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Philinidae.
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This species can be found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from northern Europe to southern Africa and is also found in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It lives subtidally to several hundreds of metres underwater, and in tropical waters, is found in deeper water.[1]
The sand slug is a sturdy solid-bodied animal, white to cream in colour with an internal shell and a folded appearance. It grows up to 100 mm in length.[2]
The sand slug is an active, sand-dwelling, predatory species; it eats small molluscs and worms which are swallowed whole, and then crushed in its gizzard. It secretes sulphuric acid to deter predators.
Its egg masses are translucent, sausage-shaped and are attached to sandy bottoms by long mucous threads.