Diniatys dubius (Schepman, 1913)

Description

A small cephalaspidean of about 10 mm in body length. The shell is thin, translucent and ovate, with almost no visible spire and is largely concealed by the mantle. The soft body is light brown to greyish, with the mantle partially overlying the outer surface of the shell. The animal lives on muddy-sand substrates, where it crawls or burrows shallowly.

Distribution

Type locality: waters off the Sailus islands, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The species is widely distributed in the tropical West Pacific.

Etymology

The specific epithet dubius is Latin for "doubtful" or "uncertain", reflecting Schepman's reservations about the identity and generic placement of the species at the time of description.

Remarks

The original material was collected by the Siboga Expedition in the Dutch East Indies and was first described as Haminea dubia.

---

References

• Haminea dubia n. sp., Schepman M.M. (1913). The Prosobranchia, Pulmonata and Opisthobranchia Tectibranchiata Tribe Bullomorpha of the Siboga Expedition. Siboga-Expeditie Monograph 49(VI): 453-494, pls 33-34.
• Diniatys dubius, Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés and David Behrens. (2018). Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific 2nd Edition. New World Pubns Inc.
• Oskars T.R., Too C.C., Rees D., Mikkelsen P.M., Willassen E. & Malaquias M.A.E. (2019). A molecular phylogeny of the gastropod family Haminoeidae sensu lato (Heterobranchia: Cephalaspidea): a generic revision. Invertebrate Systematics 33(3): 426-472.