''Peronia platei'' is a species of slug, a marine
gastropod 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 ...
, one of the families of sea slugs. Nine species of ''Peronia'' are recognized; the way to tell them apart is by DNA sequencing by mitochondrial and nuclear sequence or checking their internal anatomy. This species has hermaphroditic parts in the posterior regions of the deferent duct and straight oviduct. The male part is the muscular sac of the accessory penial gland in the anterior area. It is distributed across the entire tropical and subtropical Indo-West Pacific, from South Africa to Hawaii.
Classification
Intertidal
The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...
sea slugs are gastropods belonging to the subclass
Heterobranchia
Heterobranchia, the ''heterobranchs'' (meaning "different-gilled snails"), is a taxonomic clade of snails and slugs, which includes marine, aquatic and terrestrial gastropod mollusks.
Heterobranchia is one of the main clades of gastropods. Cur ...
and the family Onchiididae. They share many characteristics of shell-less marine
mollusks, including dorsal gills that are visible when relaxed and retracted when crawling during low tide.
Distribution and habitat
This species has a cosmopolitan distribution across the entire tropical and subtropical Indo-West Pacific, from South Africa to Hawaii. It prefers the rocky intertidal area, stays hidden in crevices such as the lagoon during high tide, and only comes out during low tide.
Description
''Peronia platei'' has a body that isn't flattened and is grey colored with small rounded protrusions on the exterior surface. It has black dorsal eyes at the tip and gills present under the dorsal notum.
''Peronia platei'' has gills on its back (
dorsal
Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to:
* Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism
* Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage
* Dorsal c ...
notum
The notum (plural nota) is the dorsal portion of an insect's thoracic segment, or the dorsal surface of the body of nudibranch gastropods. The word "notum" is always applied to dorsal structures; in other words structures that are part of the back ...
) and has hermaphroditic parts in the posterior regions of the deferent duct and straight oviduct. The male part is the muscular sac of the accessory penial gland in the anterior area that is 5 mm long; the spine of the accessory penial gland is 0.9 mm long, narrow, elongated, straight, or slightly curved. The specimen has intestinal loops of type V and several dorsal papillae with eyes and rachidian and innermost lateral teeth. They breathe air using their gills and die if exposed to water for too long.
The color of the dorsal notum is dark grey, including papillae; some
papillae show black dorsal eyes at their tip, and the number of papillae with dorsal eyes varies (from 7 to 10). Its
mantle (hyponotum) is light yellow, and the foot is pale yellow to orange. The ocular tentacles are grey, like the head.
Human use
This species is being used to study anatomical and systematic descriptions for future research. It is an indicator species that give clues about the health of the oceanic environment.
References
Further reading
* Arey, Leslie B., and William John Crozier. "On the natural history of Onchidium." Journal of Experimental Zoology 32.3 (1921): 443-502.
* Dayrat, Benoît, et al. “Systematic Revision of the Genus Peronia Fleming, 1822 (Gastropoda, Euthyneura, Pulmonata, Onchidiidae).” ''ZooKeys'', Pensoft Publishers, 10 Jan. 2020,
https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/52853/.
* Dayrat, Benoît, et al. “Systematic Revision of the Genus Peronia Fleming, 1822 (Gastropoda, Euthyneura, Pulmonata, Onchidiidae).” ZooKeys, vol. 972, no. 36, 2020, pp. 1–224,
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.972.52853.
* Goulding Tricia C., Tan Shau Hwai, Tan Siong Kiat, Apte Deepak, Bhave Vishal, Narayana Sumantha, Salunkhe Rahul, Dayrat Benoît (2018) A revision of Peronina Plate, 1893 (Gastropoda : Euthyneura : Onchidiidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences, morphology and natural history. Invertebrate Systematics 32, 803-826.
* Mackey, A. (2019, May 17). SNAPSHOT: These 17 New Sea Slugs Show Life Really is Better Under the Sea. Discover Magazine. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/snapshot-these-17-new-sea-slugs-show-life-really-is-better-under-the-sea
* Peronia Platei - Plazi TreatmentBank. treatment.plazi.org/GgServer/html/2E9F377F18D55B2F96BB82549FF4CD1E. Accessed 23 Sept. 2022.
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Onchidiidae
Gastropods described in 1928