''Platevindex luteus'' is a
species of air-breathing
sea slug, a shell-less
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
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* Marine art
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pulmonate
Pulmonata or pulmonates, is an informal group (previously an order, and before that a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group includ ...
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusk in the
family Onchidiidae
Onchidiidae are a family of small, air-breathing sea (and land) slugs. They are shell-less marine (except for 2 species)preview pulmonate gastropod molluscs. Onchidiidae is the only family within the superfamily Onchidioidea.
These animals are ...
.
Description
''Platevindex luteus'' specimens are often between 10 and 20 millimeters in length. Its dorsal colouration is typically on a range between brown and nearly black, though yellowish-brown slugs have been found. Its ventral side, however, ranges from dark blue to grey to white. The species is typically found flattened, though when disturbed it may become "almost hemispherical."
The
notum of the slug is bumpy with prominent papillae. Often, the notum will be covered in dried mud. The species has dorsal photoreceptors ("dorsal eyes") on its papillae, although these may not always be visible. Typically, a specimen will have between 10 and 22 papillae with photoreceptors, though specimens have been found with up to 35. The eyes can be distributed across the entire notum, though they are not present at the edges of the mantle.
Distribution
''Platevindex luteus'' is found in the Indo-West Pacific region, and specimens have been found in Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.
The slug is found in
mangrove forests
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...
, or at the boundaries of mangroves. Typically, it is found on dead logs or on tree trunks, though some specimens have been found on tree roots, under loose bark, under rocks, on pieces of wood and plant material, and in dark mud.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7092077
Onchidiidae
Gastropods described in 1885