''Oxynoe antillarum'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of small sea snail or

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary time ...

, a bubble

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class G ...

, a marine gastropod

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Oxynoidae.

Distribution

The type locality for this species is Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.Jensen K. R. (November 2007)
"Biogeography of the Sacoglossa (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia)"
. ''

Bonner zoologische Beiträge The ''Bonn Zoological Bulletin'' (''BzB''), formerly ''Bonner zoologische Beiträge'', is a peer reviewed open access journal dealing with zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is no ...

'' 55(2006)(3-4): 255–281.

Description

This species has a characteristic mottled white pattern and is covered with translucent white spots. There is a mottled white band that extends along the sides of the head, around the edge of the parapodia, and also along the edge of the foot. The body is green and oval. The tail is very long, narrow, with a wide longitudinal white dorsal band. The body is closely dotted with green. Tentacles and sides of the head are white, with rather remote green dots arranged in series. Epipodial lobes are with acute, conic, close warts, its edge white with irregular green dots. Sole of the foot yellowish, narrow, the margin with a row of regular close green dots. The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

is involute, ovate, hyaline-white, swollen above, very slightly contracted immediately below the vertex, shining, with some irregular wrinkles of growth. The

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

is concealed. The suture a deep lunate incision. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

is very large, broadly ovate below, narrow above. The outer lip is sinuous, produced forward above. The height of the shell is 6-6.25 mm. The width of the shell is 4.5 mm.

Feeding Habits

''O. antillarum'' feeds on algae, and incorporates the algae's

photosynthetic pigment A photosynthetic pigment (accessory pigment; chloroplast pigment; antenna pigment) is a pigment that is present in chloroplasts or photosynthetic bacteria and captures the light energy necessary for photosynthesis. List of photosynthetic pigme ...

s into its mantle. These pigments continue to carry out photosynthesis in the presence of sunlight, allowing ''O. antillarum'' to obtain additional nutrition.

Defense

When irritated, ''O. antillarum'' will exude a thick white secretion, which contains chemicals unpleasant to many predators. These chemicals are thought to be derived from the algae it consumes.

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference. Pilsbry H. A. (1895-1896). ''

Manual of Conchology George Washington Tryon Jr. (20 May 1838 – 5 February 1888) was an American malacologist who worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Biography George Washington Tryon was the son of Edward K. Tryon and Adeline Savidt. ...

. Volume 16. Philinidae, Gastropteridae, Aglajidae, Aplysiidae, Oxynoeidae, Runcinidae, Umbraculidae, Pleurobranchidae.'
page 164plate 53
figure 90.

External links

Photo of Caulerpa slug (Oxynoe antillarum)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxynoe Antillarum Oxynoidae Gastropods described in 1863