Philinopsis gigliolii (Tapparone Canefri, 1874)

Location: Tanoura, Susaki, Shizuoka, Japan
Date: 2014/03/24
Length: 30mm
Depth: 4.0m
Water temperature: 14.1℃

Description

Ground color blackish brown, densely sprinkled all over with minute yellowish-brown to yellowish-white spots. Fine yellow lines run along the midline and margins of the cephalic shield and the parapodia, often accompanied by an interrupted orange-yellow line just inside these margins. The posterior end of the cephalic shield is elongated, bent dorsally, and split into two lobes. The body is semi-cylindrical with well-developed parapodia that cover the dorsum along its entire length, and the thin lamellate shell is enclosed within the body. A sand-burrowing predator that feeds on small cephalaspidean snails such as Cylichna. Adults reach about 30–35 mm in body length.

Distribution

Japan (Seto Inland Sea and Pacific coast of Honshu), Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea, Russian Far East (Primorye), south-eastern Australia, and northern New Zealand. The type locality lies along the Japanese coast and is presumed to be near Yokohama. The species shows an antitropical distribution, occurring in temperate waters of both the northern and southern hemispheres.

Etymology

Named in honor of Enrico Hillyer Giglioli (1845–1909), the Italian naturalist who served as zoologist aboard the Italian Royal frigate Magenta during her circumnavigation of the globe (1865–1868), on which the type material was collected.

Remarks

The Japanese name カノコキセワタ (kanoko-kisewata, "fawn-spotted kisewata") was coined by Taki 1936, who placed the species in the kisewata group based on its sand-burrowing habit and external resemblance to other Aglajidae and likened the spotted pattern to fawn (kanoko) markings. The species was originally described as Aglaja gigliolii and later transferred to Philinopsis. Philinopsis taronga (Allan, 1933) from Australia and Chelidonura aureopunctata Rudman, 1968 from New Zealand are treated as junior synonyms. Chaban, Ekimova & Chernyshev 2024 reconfirmed the validity of P. gigliolii on both morphological and molecular grounds, uniting Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea, and southern-hemisphere populations under this name.