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[Chaussieria Oudemans 1937: 10 (IT: 1) spp]
Chaussieria adults & nymphæ can be distinguished from all other Erythracarinæ by tarsi I-III divided into a basitarsus and an unsegmented telotarsus by a narrow flexible band of wrinkled cuticle; LIII distinctly shorter than LII. Larvæ, nymphæ & adults also have trichobothria sci approximately aligned with setæ sce. C. domestica can be distinguished from its congeners by having a palp tarsus that is longer than the rest of the palp; also diagnostic is the combination of 5-6 setæ on trochanter I, 11 setæ on genu IV, 6 setæ on basifemur IV. Cfr. notes¹ over the above image.
NOTES
1. TBL 0.8 mm; 2 t-sci aligned with 2 s-sce; 2 postocular subcuticular granular swellings, probably sensory organs or "megaocelli"; LIII distinctly shorter than LII.
REFERENCES
J. Cowles 2018: Amazing Arachnida.
P.B. Klimov & al. 2017: Acariformes phylogeny.
A.R. Pepato & P.B. Klimov 2015: Origin of Acariformes.
M. Dabert & al. 2010: Acariformes phylogeny.
G.W. Krantz & D.E. Walter 2009: Acarology, pp. 253-254.
J.C. Otto 2000: Erythracarinæ cladistic analysis, pp. 456-457.
J.C. Otto 1999: Chaussieria systematics, pp. 266-269.
G.W. Wharton & E.W. Baker 1952: An introduction to acarology.
An evolving project by Jürgen Siebert inspired by Yves Peters’ The Abbreviated Typographer. Featuring FF Unit. Suggestions welcome.
Learn more typographical terms in our newly expanded Glossary »
Vanessa cardui is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan.
Description
For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.
See also: Cynthia (butterfly) § Distinguishing features
Wing scales.
Male and female. Upperside. Ground-colour reddish-ochreous, basal areas olivescent-ochreous-brown; cilia black, alternated with white, Forewing with an outwardly-oblique black irregular-shaped broken band crossing from middle of the cell to the disc above the submedian vein; the apical area from end of cell and the exterior border also black; before the apex is a short white outwardly-oblique streak and a curved row of four round spots, the second and third being small; a marginal pale lunular line with its upper portion most defined and whitish. Hind-wing with a blackish patch from the costal vein across end of cell, a partly confluent recurved discal band, a submarginal row of lunules, and then a marginal row of somewhat scutiform spots; between the discal band and submarginal lunules is a row of five round black spots, which in some examples show a pale and dark outer ring. Underside. Forewing brighter reddish-ochreous, the apical area and outer margin much paler, the apex being olivescent ochreous-brown; discal irregular band as above, subapical white streak, row of spots and marginal lunules distinct; base of wing and interspace before end of cell white. Hindwing transversely-marbled with olivescent ochreous-brown and speckled with black scales; crossed by basal and discal sinuous whitish or pale fascia and intersected by white veins; an outer-discal row of five ocelli, the upper one smallest and usually imperfect, the second and fifth the largest, the fourth with black centre speckled with blue and ringed with yellow, and the second and fifth also with an outer black ring; submarginal lunules purpurescent-grey, bordered by a whitish fascia; outer margin ochreous. Body olivescent ochreous-brown, abdomen with ochreous bands; palpi blackish above, white beneath; body beneath and legs greyish-white; antennae black above, tip and beneath reddish.
Distribution
V. cardui is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. In Australia, V. cardui has a limited range around Bunbury, Fremantle, and Rottnest Island. However, its close relative, the Australian painted lady (V. kershawi, sometimes considered a subspecies) ranges over half the continent. Other closely related species are the American painted lady (V. virginiensis) and the West Coast lady (V. annabella).
Migration
V. cardui occurs in any temperate zone, including mountains in the tropics. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates in spring, and sometimes again in autumn. It migrates from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Britain and Europe in May and June, occasionally reaching Iceland,[8] and from the Red Sea basin, via Israel and Cyprus, to Turkey in March and April. The occasional autumn migration made by V. cardui is likely for the inspection of resource changes; it consists of a round trip from Europe to Africa.
For decades, naturalists have debated whether the offspring of these immigrants ever make a southwards return migration. Research suggests that British painted ladies do undertake an autumn migration, making 14,500 km (9,000 mi) round trip from tropical Africa to the Arctic Circle in a series of steps by up to six successive generations. The Radar Entomology Unit at Rothamsted Research provided evidence that autumn migrations take place at high altitude, which explains why these migrations are seldom witnessed. In recent years, thanks to the activity of The Worldwide Painted Lady Migration citizen science project, led by the Barcelona-based Institute of Evolutionary Biology (Catalan: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva), the huge range of migration has begun to be revealed. For example, some butterflies migrated from Iceland to the Sahara desert, and even further south.
V. cardui is known for its distinct migratory behaviour. In California, they are usually seen flying from north to north-west. These migrations appear to be partially initiated by heavy winter rains in the desert where rainfall controls the growth of larval food plants. In March 2019, after heavy rain produced an abundance of vegetation in the deserts, Southern California saw these butterflies migrating by the millions across the state.
Similarly, heavier than usual rain during the 2018-2019 winter seems to have been the cause of the extraordinarily large migration observed in Israel at the end of March, estimated at a billion individual butterflies. Painted lady migration patterns are highly erratic and they do not migrate every year. Some evidence suggests that global climatic events, such as el Niño, may affect the migratory behaviour of the painted lady butterflies, causing large-scale migrations. The first noticeable wave of migration in eastern Ukraine was noted in the 20s of April 2019. From May 15, numbers began to grow and it was possible to observe hundreds of this species in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, including in the city streets of Kharkiv.
Based on experimental data, the painted lady's migration pattern in northern Europe apparently does not follow a strict north-west heading. The range of headings suggests that migrating butterflies may adjust their migration patterns in response to local topographical features and weather, such as strong wind patterns. Laboratory-raised autumn-generation painted lady butterflies were able to distinguish a southern orientation for a return migration path. According to the same laboratory-based study, when butterflies were isolated from the sun, they were unable to orient themselves in a specific direction, opposed to those that did have access to the sun. This suggests that V. cardui requires a direct view of the sky, implying the use of a solar compass to orient its migratory direction and maintain a straight flight path.
Mating behaviour in relation to migration
V. cardui displays a unique system of continuous mating, throughout all seasons, including the winter. This may be attributed to its migratory patterns, thus significantly affecting its mating behaviour. During European migrations, the butterflies immediately begin to mate and lay eggs upon arrival in the Mediterranean in the spring, starting in late May. In the United States, painted lady butterflies migrating towards the north experience poor mating conditions, and many butterflies have limited breeding capabilities. The "local adult generation" develops during this time, roughly from the middle of May through early June in conjunction with the butterfly progression throughout their flight.
During its migratory process, these painted lady butterflies start breeding, and reproduce entirely throughout their migration. Scientists have not been able to find evidence of their overwintering; this may be because they migrate to warmer locations to survive and reproduce. Female painted lady butterflies may suspend their flight temporarily when they are "ready to oviposit"; this allows them the opportunity to continually reproduce throughout their migrations. Because these butterflies are constantly migrating, male butterflies are thought to lack consistent territory. Instead of requiring territory to mate with females and developing evolutionary behaviour to defend this territory, the mating butterflies appear to establish a particular "time and place" in certain locations that they find to be suitable for reproduction. More specifically, they locate certain perches, hilltops, forest-meadow edges, or other landmarks where they will stay until, presumably, a female arrives to mate.
Equally important for the reproduction of the painted lady butterflies is the males' exhibition of polygynous mating behaviour, in which they often mate with more than one female. This is important for painted lady butterflies because the benefits may supersede the costs of polygyny since no permanent breeding ground is used. Upon mating, which typically occurs in the afternoon, female painted lady butterflies lay eggs one by one in their desired breeding locations. The variety of eclosion locations ultimately dictates the male painted lady behaviour.
Female painted lady butterflies have been observed to have a relatively "high biotic potential", meaning they each produce large numbers of offspring. This perpetual influx of reproduction may be a reason why these painted lady butterflies have propagated so successfully. One interesting aspect that scientists have observed is that these butterflies like to fly towards rain. Further studies have suggested that the large amounts of rainfall may somehow "activate more eggs or induce better larval development". Inhabited locations begin to observe a large influx of new generations of painted lady butterflies in the fall, particularly in September and October. Their reproductive success declines relatively throughout the winter, primarily through November. However, they still continue to reproduce—an aspect of butterfly behaviour that is quite unique. Scientists hypothesize that these extensive migratory patterns help the painted lady butterflies find suitable conditions for breeding, thus offering a possible reason as to why these butterflies mate continuously.
Oviposition
Adult butterflies feed on flower nectar and aphid honeydew. Females oviposit on plants with nectar immediately available for the adults even if it leads to high mortality of the larvae. This lack of discrimination indicates they do not take into account volatile chemicals released from potential host plants when searching for oviposition choices.
The availability of adult resources dictates a preference for specific areas of flowers. Flowers with more available nectar result in a larger number of eggs deposited on the plants. This reinforces the idea that the painted lady butterfly does not discriminate host plants and chooses mainly on the availability of adult food sources even if it increases the mortality rate of the offspring. The data also suggest that the painted lady butterfly favors quantity of offspring over quality.
Vision
Painted lady butterflies have a visual system that resembles that of a honey bee. Adult V. cardui eyes contain ultraviolet, blue, and green opsins. Unlike other butterflies, such as the monarch or red postman butterflies, painted ladies lack red receptors, which means that they are not sensitive to red light. Behavioral studies on the related species, Vanessa atalanta, have demonstrated that V. atalanta cannot distinguish yellow light from orange light or orange light from red light.
Roosting behaviour and territory
Groups of two to eight painted lady butterflies have been observed to fly in circles around each other for about one to five seconds before separating, symbolizing courtship. Groups of butterflies usually will not fly more than 4.5 m away from the starting point. To establish and defend their territories, adult males perch in the late afternoon in areas where females are most likely to appear. Once the male spots a female of the same species, he begins pursuit of her. If the foreign butterfly is a male, the original male will give chase, flying vertically for a few feet before returning to his perch.
V. cardui establishes territories within areas sheltered by hedgerows. Vanessa cardui tend to inhabit sunny, brightly lit, open environments and are often attracted to open areas of flowers and clovers. Adults spend time in small depressions in the ground on overcast days.
Host plants
Larvae feed on Asteraceae species, including Cirsium, Carduus, Centaurea, Arctium, Onopordum, Helianthus, and Artemisia.
The painted lady uses over 300 recorded host plants according to the HOSTS database.
Defence mechanisms
The main defence mechanisms of painted lady butterflies include flight and camouflage. The caterpillars hide in small silk nests on top of leaves from their main predators that include wasps, spiders, ants, and birds.
Human interaction
Vanessa cardui and other painted lady species are bred in schools for educational purposes and used for butterfly releases at hospices, memorial events, and weddings.
Explains for the layman - with or without the BPD - what it's like to live with the borderline personality disorder, and how to recover. Includes explanations of biology, medications, therapy, and other diagnoses. An extensive bibliography and glossary are included. Life at the Border was placed on the recommended reading list by the National Institute of Mental Health and is a reference book at NIMH.In my last post, I discussed how children act out certain roles in their family of origin in order to try to emotionally stabilize parents who are emotional unstable. Doing so also has the effect of maintaining dysfunctional relationship patterns so that the family operates in predictable ways (family homeostasis).
In today's post, I will look at the role that is played by the patient with borderline personality disorder (BPD), which I call the Spoiler. I will look at the dysfunctional family dynamics that I believe help to create the disorder.
For readers who are not familiar with the disorder, BPD is sort of the "jack of all trades" of personality dysfunction. People who have the diagnosis show gross disturbances in their ability to control their emotions, in their extremely chaotic interpersonal relationships, in their impulse control, and in their attempts to understand who or what they want to be in life (identity confusion).
These are the people who are not psychotic but who seem to show very poor judgment in interpersonal relationships, and who often seem to misinterpret in a negative way the most innocent-sounding comments made to them by others. They often cut, burn, or in other ways injure themselves. They make suicide threats and attempts and have anger control problems. They do not trust others easily, and they often "space out" or dissociate when under stress.
They engage in behavior referred to by therapists as splitting: Everyone else is treated either like a god or a complete pile of manure, with nothing in between. Interestingly, patients with BPD are often described by therapists as being superb manipulators. One must wonder how anyone who cannot simultaneously evaluate another person's strengths and weaknesses could possibly be a good manipulator. Simple answer: They could not. While the tendency of thes individuals to "split" others into all good or all bad does derive from the bewildering contradictory behavior of the patient's parents or primary caretakers, usually it is just an act.
Their behavior is often so extreme that is natural to start to think that they must have some sort of brain disease. While genetics may predispose some individuals to be more prone to develop these characteristics than others, I am not among the psychiatrists who think BPD is a disease rather than dysfunctional personality traits that tend to co-occur in some children from some disturbed families.
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/matter-personality/201109/th...
Life at the Border - Understanding and Recovering from the Borderline Personality Disorder
www.amazon.com/Life-Border-Understanding-Recovering-Perso...
For those of you who aren't fighter pilots, here's a handy glossary for your reference:
Affirmative: Yes; also "Affirm","Firm" or "Roger"
Bugout: Let’s separate out of here; usually given with a direction - "Bugout {North, South, East, West".
Angels: Altitude expressed in thousands of feet. For example, "Angels 30" means an altitude of 30,000 feet.
No Joy: I don’t see the target.
Chicks: Friendly fighters.
Jumping In: A call to notify other simulator pilots that you are entering the mission.
Furball: A turning air combat engagement.
Winchester: Out of weapons.
Bingo: Running low on fuel. A plane with Bingo fuel has enough to get back to base safely, but not much more.
Abraxas or Abrasax (Gnostic, from Greek Αβραξας) From the Theosophical Glossary: "A mystical term used by the Gnostics to indicate the supreme entity of our cosmic hierarchy or its manifestation in the human being they called the Christos. Abraxas has the value of 365, based on numerical equivalents in the Greek alphabet. Since 365 represents the cycle of one revolution of our planet around the sun, they argued that Abraxas mystically contained the total number of families of entities making up a hierarchy. Illuminator, Abraxas, the streams of life and inspiration that govern their existence, Abraxas is therefore the supreme cosmic soul, Brahma, the Creator or Third Logos. The Basilidian Gnostics [see: Basilides] taught that from this supreme God was created noûs (mind). Abraxas was also identified with the Hebrew Adonai, the Egyptian Horus and the Hindu Prajapati. The Gnostic amulets known as the Abraxas gems described the god as a pantheos (all-god), with the head of a rooster, herald of the sun, representing foresight and vigilance; a human body clad in armor evoking a guardian power; legs in the form of sacred asps. In his right hand is a flail, emblem of authority; on his left arm, a shield decorated with a word of power. This pantheos invariably bears its proper name, IAO, and its epithets Abraxas and Sabaoth, and is often accompanied by invocations such as SEMES EILAM, the eternal sun (The Gnostics and Their Remnants 246), whom Blavatsky equates with the "central spiritual sun" of the Qabbalists (SD 2: 214). Although written in Greek characters, the words SEMES EILAM ABRASAX are probably of Semitic origin: shemesh sun; `olam secret, occult, hidden, eternity, world; Abrasax Abraxas. Therefore, in combination, the phrase can be rendered "the eternal sun Abraxax".
gnosticpublishing.org/apprendre/glossaire/glossaire-a/abr...
C. G. Jung possessed an intense and sympathetic interest in the early alternative Christian tradition now known as Gnosticism. Both in his published writings and in his private reminiscences one finds frequent and insightful comments about Gnostic tradition, although during much of Jung’s life the subject of Gnosticism was virtually unknown to all but a few scholars of religion.
One of the key documents bearing early testimony to Jung’s vital Gnostic interest was his finely designed book, Septem Sermones ad Mortuos—“Seven Sermons to the Dead.” Jung had the work privately printed in 1916 and over subsequent decades gave copies of it to a select number of friends and associates. With Jung’s approval, H. G. Baynes translated the text of the Sermons into English and this edition was privately printed in 1925. Again, Jung distributed the English edition only to persons whom he felt to be properly prepared for its message.
What remained generally unknown was that around 1917 Jung also transcribed a much-expanded version of the Septem Sermones into the third and final portion of his draft manuscript of Liber Novus, the section entitled “Scrutinies.” There the Sermons appear as the summary revelation of Liber Novus. Jung never publicly revealed the existence of this longer form of the Sermons, and until the publication in 2009 of Liber Novus: The Red Book this version of the Sermons remained entirely inaccessible.
Those who were fortunate enough to become acquainted with Septem Sermones ad Mortuos usually found it intriguing, but they were often somewhat puzzled by its contents. Authorship of the book was attributed not to Jung, but to a historical Gnostic teacher named Basilides. And its place of composition was stated to be “Alexandria, the city where East and West meet.” Over ensuing years, those who had read the book sometimes referred to it as Jung’s Gnostic revelation. But of course, during Jung’s life few people knew much about Gnosticism, nor understood what really made this little book “Gnostic.” Nonetheless, following the publication of Liber Novus, it has become evident that the Sermons are indeed the revelation of C. G. Jung’s Gnostic myth. The Sermons might even be seen as the heart of his New Book—The Red Book: Liber Novus.
Since Jung’s death in 1961, a great deal more information regarding Gnosticism has become available, and it has become a subject of wide popular and academic interest. A major impetus to this awakened attention was the publication in 1977 of the Nag Hammadi library of Gnostic scriptures, the most extensive collection of original writings of the ancient Gnostics discovered thus far. The Nag Hammadi texts have shed new light on many details of the Gnostic mythos that were previously obscure. They also help place Jung’s Gnostic tract into a broader context.
The Septem Sermones ad Mortuos has proved over past years to be a difficult book to categorize. Some writers have termed it a “cosmology,” but that remains an inadequate formulation. The document might perhaps more accurately be termed a “psycho-cosmology.” Since Gnostic scriptures typically approached their psycho-spiritual themes in the form of myths, one might propose that the Septem Sermones exemplify the contemporary formulation of a Gnostic myth. Though Jung's text is not identical with any pre-existing Gnostic myth, it is nonetheless related in form to many ancient Gnostic texts that have come to light over the last century.
The Gnostic themes in the Septem Sermones are further amplified by another document created by Jung during the period in which he recorded the Sermons. In early 1916 Jung constructed a detailed and artistically impressive image—or mandala—that diagrammatically represented many of the elements discussed subsequently in the Sermons. He titled it Systema Munditotius, “the system of the entire world.” Jung did not include this image among the many illustrations within his Red Book. Much later in life he did, however, allow it to be published—it appeared in a 1955 issue of the German periodical Du that was dedicated to the Eranos conferences (Jung did not, however, allow his name to be given explicitly as the image’s creator). The illustration was subsequently included as a full-page plate in C. G. Jung: Word and Image. The Systema Munditotius is now reproduced beautifully in The Red Book: Liber Novus, where it appears in Appendix A. The amplified text of the Sermons present in Liber Novus and the diagram of Systema Munditotius together provide a foundation for the following discussion.
Statements substantiating Jung’s affinity with Gnostic tradition run throughout his published writings. Jung held the view that during much of the history of Western culture the reality of the psyche and its role in the transformation of the human being had received scant recognition. In contrast, the Gnostics of old and their later covert progeny—which in Jung’s view included the alchemists and other alternative spiritual movements—affirmed the revelatory importance of the psyche. Jung plainly stated: “For the Gnostics—and this is their real secret—the psyche existed as a source of knowledge.” In response to the recurrent question of whether or not Jung was a Gnostic, one must reply: “Certainly he was, for ‘Gnostic’ means ‘knower,’ and by his own statements Jung was one who knew.” The visions, myths, and metaphors of the Gnostics confirmed Jung’s own experiences recorded in Liber Novus, and this circumstance created a bond that joined him with Gnostics of all ages and places.
Myth of the Demiurge
The myth of the demiurge originated with Plato. In his Timaeus, Plato postulated the existence of a creator deity or “demiurge” who fashioned the material universe. The term demiurge is derived from the Greek word meaning “craftsman.” Although a craftsman and fashioner, it must be understood that the demiurge was not identical with the monotheistic creator figure; the demiurge and the material from which the demiurge fashioned the universe were both secondary consequences of another primary factor. The demiurge is thus an intermediate architect, not a supreme source.
In ancient times, Plato was regarded as the paragon of all wisdom, and his model of a demiurge or cosmic fashioner was further elaborated and adapted within many subsequent schools of thought, including in the myths of the Gnostics. Gnostics envisioned the demiurge as a subordinate supernatural power that was not identical with the true, ultimate, and transcendent godhead. The presence of a myth about this demiurge became a signal characteristic of Gnostic systems. Taking note of the sometimes distasteful character and conduct of the Old Testament deity, Gnostics frequently identified the latter as the demiurge—a being that was not evil, but still of questionable moral stature and limited wisdom.
It has long been apparent to some students of Jung that in Answer to Job he characterized the divine tyrant who tormented Job as a classic Gnostic demiurge. This divinity, as described by Jung, was a being who lacked wisdom due to having lost or forgotten his feminine side—his Sophia (“wisdom”). Notwithstanding this and other evidence, some readers of Jung previously argued that his mythos in the Septem Sermones did not include the controversial Gnostic figure of the demiurge, and therefore it should not be properly called Gnostic. Publication of the Red Book: Liber Novus now makes it abundantly clear that the demiurge is present in Jung’s myth. Indeed, Answer to Job is unmistakably a reformulation of the Gnostic myth disclosed to Jung in Liber Novus and within the Septem Sermones.
Prior to the availability of the expanded version of the Sermons found in Liber Novus, the figure of Abraxas—as portrayed in the published 1916 edition of the Sermons—remained ambiguous. In my book, The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead, first published in 1982, I offered an initial commentary on the locus of Abraxas in Jung’s myth. With the long-sequestered text of Liber Novus finally available, I now wish to amend and expand those prior comments composed nearly four decades ago. Based on documentation in Liber Novus, the figure Jung identified as “Abraxas” has finally and indisputably been divulged as a classic Gnostic demiurge.
The mysterious being called “Abraxas” first appears in Septem Sermones in the latter part of the Second Sermon; passages describing him continue throughout the Third Sermon and into the Fourth Sermon. Initially, he is there characterized as “a god about whom you know nothing, because men have forgotten him.” This statement can certainly be taken to apply to an intermediate deity, as is ubiquitous in a large number of Gnostic scriptures.
For some two thousand years Western and Middle Eastern cultures have been dominated by the monotheistic god-image familiar to us today. Prior to the first several centuries of the current era, however, many Mediterranean cultures accommodated religions of a pluralistic nature wherein the image of an ultimate, impersonal divine reality coexisted with a number of lesser or intermediate deities. In such ancient pluralistic systems, the image of a materially powerful but morally and spiritually impaired demiurge often played an important role.
Scholars now widely affirm that the incipient Christian religion harbored various alternative forms; those movements in early Christianity that included a myth of the demiurge are usually categorized collectively as “Gnostic.” While the name Abraxas does occur in a few ancient Gnostic texts (where he is usually identified as a great archon), no evidence exists that the demiurge of classical Gnosticism was specifically called Abraxas. Jung’s assignation of the ancient name Abraxas to the demiurge was thus his own imaginative appropriation.
Abraxas and the Demiurge
So, was Abraxas the demiurge in Jung’s myth? Jung’s Black Book journal entry dated January 16, 1916, and reproduced as Appendix C in Liber Novus, removes all question about this issue: Abraxas was the demiurge in Jung’s myth. As Dr. Lance Owens has previously noted, this journal entry—written around the same time Jung sketched the Systema Munidtotius, and about two weeks before he scribed his initial journal version of the Septem Sermones—records the following words spoken to Jung by the Soul, who assumed the voice of the Gnostic Sophia. Her address to Jung is inarguably a rendition of the primal Gnostic myth of the demiurge, here named Abraxas:
You should worship only one God. The other Gods are unimportant. Abraxas is to be feared. Therefore it was a deliverance when he separated himself from me.
Note that the separation of the demiurge from Sophia—“when he separated himself from me”—is a key element of the classic Gnostic myth of Sophia and the Demiurge. She then exhorts,
You do not need to seek him. He will find you, just like Eros. He is the God of the cosmos, extremely powerful and fearful. He is the creative drive, he is form and formation, just as much as matter and force, therefore he is above all the light and dark Gods. He tears away souls and casts them into procreation. He is the creative and created. He is the God who always renews himself in days, in months, in years, in human life, in ages, in peoples, in the living, in heavenly bodies. He compels, he is unsparing. If you worship him, you increase his power over you. Thereby it becomes unbearable. You will have dreadful trouble getting clear of him. … So remember him, do not worship him, but also do not imagine that you can flee him since he is all around you. You must be in the middle of life, surrounded by death on all sides. Stretched out, like one crucified, you hang in him, the fearful, the overpowering.
This journal entry unambiguously identifies the figure of Abraxas, who a few weeks thereafter appeared in Jung’s initial journal version of the Sermons, as the demiurge of classical Gnostic mythology. The identification of Abraxas with the demiurge is further established in the draft manuscript of Liber Novus, where in several passages Jung substituted the term “ruler of this world” for the name “Abraxas” that was originally recorded in his Black Book journal.
At its beginning, Jung’s Gnostic theogony in the Sermons describes an ultimate, utterly transcendental source called the Pleroma, and then a number of intermediate deities, including God-the-Sun, the Devil, Eros, and The Tree of Life. In addition to these figures, the entire Third Sermon is devoted to introducing the demiurgic figure of Abraxas. In the Fourth Sermon Jung summarizes:
Immeasurable, like the host of stars, is the number of gods and devils. Every star is a god, and every space occupied by a star is a devil. And the emptiness of the whole is the Pleroma. The activity of the whole is Abraxas; only the unreal opposes him.
The version of the Sermons included in Liber Novus contains several crucially important additions to the original text that was printed in 1916. In this expanded 1917 manuscript version, Philemon is identified as the speaker presenting the Sermons to the dead (Basilides was the speaker of the Sermons in the printed version). The text incorporates questions that Jung asks Philemon about each sermon, along with Philemon’s answers. Philemon also adds extended homiletic commentary upon the content of his sermons. All of this additional material enriches and further explicates the meaning of the Sermons.
After the First Sermon, Jung’s initial question addressed to Philemon voices concern that the teachings in the Sermons might be regarded as “reprehensible heresy.” (This query bears the characteristic of a rhetorical question.) Philemon replies that the audience to whom the Sermons are addressed—“the dead”—are Christians whose now-abandoned faith long ago declared these teachings to be heresies. This commentary might be interpreted to further imply that a large number of people in our culture are now abandoning their traditional religion and are thus prepared to listen to ancient heresies, wherein they may find answers to their own portentous questions. Philemon’s statement is clear and to the point:
Why do I impart this teaching of the ancients? I teach in this way because their Christian faith once discarded and persecuted precisely this teaching. But they repudiated Christian belief and hence were rejected by that faith. They do not know this and therefore I must teach them…
Philemon’s words are eminently applicable to the problem of religion in contemporary Western culture. Religion in much of Europe has reached an unprecedented low point in its history, and allegiance to the Christian tradition in the U.S.A. appears to be diminishing. Jung frequently pointed out that the god image in a religion and culture is of crucial importance to the well-being of the collective psyche, and therefore also to the well-being of the individual. A major factor inducing the decline of the Christian religion in the West is unquestionably the disappointment people have come to feel with the traditional monotheistic god.
Prophecy of a New Age and a New God Image
Jung’s epochal Liber Novus is, in the consensus view of informed readers, a book of prophecy. On the initial folio of Liber Novus Jung presents an image of a complex landscape surmounted by a zodiac and showing forth the aeonial passage of the sun from the sign of Pisces into that of Aquarius. This image points forward to his title, The Way of What is to Come. The reader then encounters several prophetic quotations from the writings of the prophet Isaiah, and from the prologue to the Gospel of John. Jung’s Liber Novus thus sets the stage for disclosure of its new prophecy.
Throughout both Liber Primus and Liber Secundus of Liber Novus we find recurring references to the coming of the new age of Aquarius. In an impressive section that Jung titled “The Three Prophecies,” his Soul reveals to him three periods in the forthcoming age: War, Magic, and Religion. In commentary on this vision, Jung wrote,
These three mean the unleashing of chaos and its power, just as they also mean the binding of chaos. War is obvious and everybody sees it. Magic is dark and no one sees it. Religion is still to come, but it will become evident. … I felt the burden of the most terrible work of the times ahead. I saw where and how, but no word can grasp it, no will can conquer it. … But I saw it and my memory will not leave me alone.
Examining the numerous prophetic passages in Liber Novus, it becomes clear that at the heart of Jung’s experience there abides a vision of the formation of a new god image. But what indications did Jung give regarding the nature of this new god image and, moreover, how may contemporary persons facilitate the arising of a new god image in their own natures and in the new religion that is to come?
Liber Novus offers several statements that refer to the coming god image. The tone is set in the early part of Liber Primus; Jung there recounts several visions that he experienced which foretold of the time when “the great war broke out between the peoples of Europe.” He then declares,
Within us is the way, the truth, and the life. … The signposts have fallen, unblazed trails lie before us. Do not be greedy to gobble up the fruits of foreign fields. Do you not know that you yourselves are the fertile acre which bears everything that avails you?
It is clear from the beginning of Jung’s mysterious prophetic book that the future god image is none other than the divine essential Selfhood indwelling in the human soul. Here, again, we must turn to the expanded version of the Sermons for a clarifying commentary. At the conclusion of the First Sermon, Philemon instructs his audience to strive for what he calls their essences. He continues,
At bottom, therefore, there is only one striving, namely the striving for one's own essence. If you had this striving, you would not need to know anything about the Pleroma and its qualities, and yet you would attain the right goal by virtue of your own essence. Since, however, thought alienates us from our essence, I must teach you that knowledge with which you can bridle your thoughts.
Many Gnostic writings explicitly state that the essence of the human is the fragment of the ultimate reality residing at the center of its being. When it is possible for the human to gain access to this essence, all other religious or spiritual endeavors are redundant. It is largely the fault of the demiurge—or so Jung’s old friends, the Gnostics, believed—that this access is so fraught with difficulty. In the Sermons, Jung’s spirit mentor Philemon offers advice regarding the judicious way in which humans may free themselves from the yoke of the demiurge. Unlike some of the more radical Gnostics of old, Philemon advises us to neither flee from the demiurge Abraxas, nor to seek him. In one passage in the Sermons, Philemon says about Abraxas, “to resist him not is liberation.”
The Gnostic demiurge, by whatever name he may be called, is omnipresent in the outer world. While humans are in terrestrial embodiment they must both accept the demiurge’s presence, and equally endeavor to counterbalance his influence by contacting their own indwelling essence. This indwelling essence is described in the Seventh Sermon as the “solitary star” in the heavens. This statement is supplemented by the revelation Jung recorded in his Black Book journal on January 16, 1916, wherein his Soul admonished him:
You have in you the one God, the wonderfully beautiful and kind, the solitary, starlike, unmoving, he who is older and wiser than the father, he who has a safe hand, who leads you among all the darknesses and death scares of dreadful Abraxas. He gives joy and peace, since he is beyond death and beyond what is subject to change. He is no servant and no friend of Abraxas.
What then is the principal deficiency in the god of the old Aeon, the god who is to be overcome? Employing the nomenclature of the Sermons and other statements by Jung, we might say that the god of the monotheistic religions is a compound in which the ultimate god (called the Pleroma in the Septem Sermones) is unconsciously combined with the demiurge, named by Jung as Abraxas.
Based on the numerous paradoxical and even downright evil deeds and utterances of the Old Testament deity, and the fact that this deity was carried forward into orthodox Christianity, one is tempted to conclude (as Jung did in Answer to Job) that the Judeo-Christian god is at best a being who embodies both arrogance and unconsciousness. It seems quite impossible to believe that this god is both almighty and good—for his goodness would thus have to be combined with impotence, or alternatively, his omnipotence would be joined to his absence of goodness. A considerable portion of humanity has thus reached the point where it can no longer endure the unconscious tension embodied by a blind belief in an utterly enigmatic and derisory god image. This circumstance is causing an unprecedented upsurge of atheism and secularism in Western culture.
Throughout the twentieth century humanity has experienced a multitude of terrible events; these have undermined many people’s ability to have faith in a benevolent god. The medieval brutality of modern-day terrorists motivated by commitment to a monotheistic god has only reinforced the rejection of such traditional god images in secular society. Our age cries out for a new understanding of divinity, and a new god image. This was Jung’s prophesy in Liber Novus. As he also noted, this development may take centuries. Until a new god image constellates, we will pass through an epoch of chaos and violence.
When Christendom cast out the salvific myth of Gnosis in favor of an unimaginative literalism, it became spiritually impoverished. Our impoverishment has now reached its terminus. We await the formation of our new myth—a myth that rediscovers the primordial images and myth of Gnosis. As Jung declared,
I hope the reader will not be offended if my exposition sounds like a Gnostic myth. We are moving in those psychological regions where, as a matter of fact, Gnosis is rooted. The message of the Christian symbol is Gnosis, and the [response to it] by the unconscious is Gnosis in even higher degree. Myth is the primordial language natural to these psychic processes, and no intellectual formulation comes anywhere near the richness and expressiveness of mythical imagery. Such processes are concerned with the primordial images, and these are best and most succinctly reproduced by figurative language.
The Self, the Demiurge, and the New God Image
The issue of the coming god image has captured the attention of several of Jung's students in recent decades. Edward Edinger made perhaps the most complete statement concerning Jung’s declaration in his pioneering book, The New God-Image. As Edinger noted, Jung avowed an ancient and esoteric image of a deific consciousness dwelling in the soul. This affirmation is present in Liber Novus, and is restated in various ways throughout all of Jung’s subsequent writings. In Liber Novus Jung offered a startling prophecy: the long neglected indwelling god image would eventually become the orienting god image of the future. On the first page of Liber Novus he made it plain that this prediction was coordinated with the synchronous passing of the world from the astrological age of Pisces into that of Aquarius.
It is now evident that the essential foundation of Jung’s science and psychological language reposed in his long-concealed Liber Novus. A key revelation present within Liber Novus that later emerged as a core affirmation in his psychology—and as a spiritual and archetypal declaration—was the assertion of the presence within the human psyche of a central archetype, around which other archetypes constellate. He called this central principle or archetype the “Self.” In Psychology and Alchemy—published in 1944, and based on lectures given in 1935—Jung stated:
I have found myself obliged to give [this] archetype the psychological name of the “self”—a term on the one hand definite enough to convey the essence of human wholeness and on the other hand indefinite enough to express the indescribable and indeterminable nature of this wholeness. … Hence in its scientific usage the term “self” refers neither to Christ nor to the Buddha but to the totality of the figures that are its equivalent, and each of these figures is a symbol of the self. This mode of expression is an intellectual necessity in scientific psychology and in no sense denotes a transcendental prejudice. On the contrary … this objective attitude enables one man to decide in favour of the determinant Christ, another in favour of the Buddha, and so on.
While the existence of a divine image internal to the psyche, termed by Jung the “Self,” is widely accepted among followers of Jung, the opposing archetype of the demiurge is far less known. Jung claimed that at the heart of early Christianity there existed the insight of Gnosis; he himself had met this Gnosis in the experiences recorded in his Black Book journals, and thence in Liber Novus and in the Septem Sermones. An essential part of the archetypal mythos of Gnosis is the presence of a duality both inwardly in the soul, and outwardly in the cosmos. This duality is composed of a divine spark within the deepest recesses of the soul, and of an outer demiurgic power. Self and Demiurge stand in opposition.
This symbolic opposition is illustrated clearly in Jung’s 1916 mandala, Systema Munditotius. At the lowest point of the circular mandala, seated on the exterior circle, is a being with the lower body of a large serpent, surmounted by a light-colored torso, and topped by the golden head of a lion crowned with a ten-rayed golden halo. On the opposite pole of the mandala, at the apex of the design, we find a winged egg within which stands the figure of the child-god Phanes. The serpent-lion is described as abraxas dominus mundi (Abraxas, Lord of the World). This powerful demiurge dominates the lower creation, while the child-god Phanes above is about to attain to his full stature. The undifferentiated, primitive god-image is about to be replaced by the still developing child-god of promise.
The Systema Munditotius is further populated by images of archetypal beings that arrange themselves in pairs of opposites on the poles of the mandala. These include deus sol (god the sun) and deus luna satanus (god the moon, Satan). We also find paired a winged rodent identified as scientia (science), and a winged worm named ars (art). Despite the abundance of these symbolic images—many of which later appear as figures in the text of the Septem Sermones—the two principal focal points of the diagram are clearly Abraxas and Phanes.
A picture compensates for many words and Jung’s images here illuminate the nature and role of the archetypes depicted, particularly of the primordial demiurge Abraxas, and of Phanes, the new god-image awaiting birth. Of course, in conjunction with this image, the verbal descriptions of Abraxas in the Septem Sermones are also instructive:
Abraxas is the god whom it is difficult to know. His power is the very greatest, because man does not perceive it at all. He is magnificent even as the lion at the very moment when he strikes his prey down. His beauty is like the beauty of a spring morn.
To see him means blindness; To know him is sickness; To worship him is death; To fear him is wisdom; Not to resist him means liberation … Such is the terrible Abraxas … He is both the radiance and the dark shadow of man. He is deceitful reality.
As Jung noted in the Second Sermon, people know nothing about the demiurge because they have forgotten him. This forgetting was aided by the self-declared architects of the early Christian centuries: the heresiologist Church Fathers of orthodoxy. The very thought of a demiurge thereafter became a heretical abomination to orthodox Christendom. Jung’s insights recorded in the Liber Novus, and particularly in the Sermons, declared that in order to move toward greater wholeness we must look to the coming new god image. But to do this, we need also recognize the forgotten demiurge, the god whom Jung declared “difficult to know.”
Present-day humanity is gradually becoming aware of an inner psychic reality, a centering fact Jung identified as the salvific archetype of the Self. In Liber Novus he prophetically proclaimed that a new god image is developing in humanity—and perhaps a new god image has already awakened in some individuals of our age, as it did in Jung. This incipient aeonial development demands further conscious awareness and a conscious union of the opposites. Using the language of Liber Novus and the Systema Munditotius, we might proclaim that Phanes is now stirring and is about to break out of the egg. For this to happen, however, human beings must also consciously recognize the reality of his opposite entity, the demiurge Abraxas.
Western culture has suffered too long from a ruinous one-sidedness. A powerful element in this one-sided perspective is a militant unwillingness to acknowledge the effective reality of the demiurge. With singular symbolic insight, the ancient Gnostics noted how the human spirit is confined on earth by a prison constructed of perplexing opposites. A demiurgic reality has placed us behind these prison bars, which alternatingly assume form in the inexorable struggle of light and dark, good and evil, or wise and unwise components. Denying the reality of this fact merely continues our confinement.
Our extraverted immersion in the world, both in its natural and cultural aspects, perpetuates servitude to the forgotten Abraxas. His fiery, mesmerizing, and infinitely creative powers enthrall us. We worship the terrible Abraxas in the baleful political ideologies of our epoch. Ever increasingly, he holds us captive in the magically scintillating web of modern technology. Only an increase of psychological awareness, leading to the individuation of our psyches, offers a path to liberation from the domination of the internal complexes and external fascinations that are the essence of Abraxas. It is incumbent upon us to accept the reality of this archetypal force, for in the words of the Sermons, “to worship him is death; to fear him is wisdom, not to resist him means liberation.”
The time has come when we must incorporate Jung’s epochal insights into our lives. The teachings of Liber Novus must be met as a form of spiritual discipline. A few months before his death in 1960, Jung wrote to an acquaintance,
I was unable to make the people see what I am after. I am practically alone. There are a few who understand this and that, but almost nobody sees the whole... I have failed in my foremost task: to open people’s eyes to the fact that man has a soul and there is a buried treasure in the field and that our religion and philosophy are in a lamentable state.
Today, after the publication of his monumental spiritual classic, Liber Novus, we may be able to finally reply to Jung that he has not failed at all; that inspired now by his visionary message, we too are ready “to give birth to the ancient in a new time.” In some mysterious archetypal locale, the sage Dr. C. G. Jung awaits such a response to his great work.
gnosis.org/gnostic-jung/Abraxas-Jungs-Demiurge.html
Abraxas by Samael Aun Weor
Abraxasor Abrasax (Gnostic, from the Greek Αβραξας) From The Theosophical Glossary: "Mystical term used by the Gnostics to indicate the supreme entity of our cosmic hierarchy or its manifestation in the human being which they called the Christos. Abraxas has the value of 365, based on numerical equivalents of the Greek alphabet. Because 365 represents the cycle of one revolution of our planet around the sun, they held that in Abraxas were mystically contained the full number of families of entities composing a hierarchy. These entities received from their supreme illuminator, Abraxas, the streams of life and inspiration governing their existence. Thus in a sense Abraxas is the cosmic Oversoul, the creative or Third Logos, Brahma. The Basilidean Gnostics [see: Basilides] taught that from this supreme God was created nous (mind). Abraxas also was identified with the Hebrew 'Adonai, the Egyptian Horus, and the Hindu Prajapati. Gnostic amulets known as Abraxas gems depicted the god as a pantheos (all-god), with the head of a cock, herald of the sun, representing foresight and vigilance; a human body clothed in armor, suggestive of guardian power; legs in the form of sacred asps. In his right hand is a scourge, emblem of authority; on his left arm a shield emblazoned with a word of power. This pantheos is invariably inscribed with his proper name IAO and his epithets Abraxas and Sabaoth, and often accompanied with invocations such as SEMES EILAM, the eternal sun ( Gnostics and Their Remains 246), which Blavatsky equates with "the central spiritual sun" of the Qabbalists (SD 2:214). Though written in Greek characters, the words SEMES EILAM ABRASAX are probably Semitic in origin: shemesh sun; `olam secret, occult, hid, eternity, world; Abrasax Abraxas. Hence in combination the phrase may be rendered "the eternal sun Abraxax." "Remember, beloved devotee, the double tail of the serpent that forms the legs of the solar rooster of Abraxas. The entire process of the Great Work consists of releasing oneself from the enchanted rings of the tempting serpent..." - Samael Aun Weor, The Aquarian Message
Length 12.8 mm. Menai Strait, Wales. June 2018. Leg. P. Brazier and L. Kay.
Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW
PDF available at: www.researchgate.net/publication/358021760_Ancula_gibbosa...
Sets of OTHER SPECIES at: www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818)
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140029
Synonyms Tritonia gibbosa Risso, 1818; Polycera cristata Alder, 1841; Ancula cristata (Alder, 1841);
GLOSSARY BELOW
Description (of European Form A)
In Britain, adults of this small species are usually about 13 mm long (Alder and Hancock, 1845 -55) fig. 1 flic.kr/p/2mTNK9K and many finds are much smaller. Claims of up to 33 mm length probably relate to A. pacifica MacFarland, 1905, which was synonymised with A. gibbosa by Thompson and Brown (1984). The body is smooth, translucent white and sometimes reveals pinkish, brownish and opaque white viscera fig. 2 flic.kr/p/2mTS6PE and fig. 10 flic.kr/p/2mTQ6sq . On the slender, tapering tail, there is a yellow or orange, medial, dorsal ridge which extends part or all the way to the gills fig. 3 flic.kr/p/2mTTkPT . The mantle edge is indiscernible apart from a raised rim bearing up to seven elongate, distally slightly-swollen, yellow- or orange-tipped, pallial processes at either side of the gills fig. 4 flic.kr/p/2mTS6ML . Three tripinnate, white gills, with yellow or orange tips and opaque white spheroids in the translucent stems and branches, are arranged around the white anal papilla fig. 5 flic.kr/p/2mTS6Ld ; one at the anterior and one at either side fig. 6 flic.kr/p/2mTS6Jj . The yellow or orange pigment is sometimes absent from some or all of the features above fig. 7 flic.kr/p/2mTNQHL .
The rhinophores have up to twelve prominent, translucent white lamellae which are widely divided on the anterior and have yellow or orange pigment distally fig. 8 flic.kr/p/2mTQ6u4 . The blunt apex protruding above the lamellae is often tilted forwards. The translucent, swollen, smooth base has two forward-pointing, long, linear, finely tapered, white pallial processes which are usually yellow or orange distally. The yellow or orange pigment is sometimes absent from the rhinophores and pallial processes.
The head consists of the mouth, its surrounds and a pair of small, white oral tentacles fig. 9 flic.kr/p/2mTS6vP which may have yellow or orange tips. There are no linear processes on the anterior edge of the head, but the forward-pointing pallial processes at the base of the rhinophores are often mistaken for them in dorsal view fig. 3 flic.kr/p/2mTTkPT . The long, narrow, white foot tapers evenly in its posterior half to a fine posterior point. It has no propodial tentacles fig. 9 flic.kr/p/2mTS6vP . Its translucency and that of the upper body may reveal several internal organs fig. 10 flic.kr/p/2mTQ6sq . In dorsal view, only small parts of the foot protrude into sight fig. 3 flic.kr/p/2mTTkPT .
Key identification features*
A. gibbosa fig. 2 flic.kr/p/2mTS6PE
1) Two forward-pointing, not strongly-curved, linear processes at base of each rhinophore.
2) Several erect linear processes by each side of the gills.
3) Anterior of foot has no propodial tentacles fig. 9 flic.kr/p/2mTS6vP .
4) No linear processes on the anterior edge of the head.
5) Orange or yellow pigment, when present, confined to distal part of appendages and a medial line to the rear of the gills.
6) Adults usually reach about 13 mm length.
*These features relate to the form of A. gibbosa sensu lato found in Europe. For American and Asiatic forms see ‘Discussion of distribution and status’ below.
Similar species
Ancula pacifica MacFarland, 1905, fig. 11 flic.kr/p/2mTNQro .
A. pacifica occurs on the Pacific coast of the USA and possibly in Japan. Image labelled ‘A. gibbosa’ [sensu lato] at en.seaslug.world/species/ancula_gibbosa (Baba, 1990 and Nakano, 2018).
All forms are regarded as a synonym of A. gibbosa by Thompson and Brown (1984) and on WoRMS (accessed 23 December, 2021) but Atlantic A. gibbosa collected by J. Goddard from Maine, USA were found by Harris (2011) to be genetically distinct from Pacific A. pacifica in the collections at the California Academy of Sciences (J. Goddard, pers. comm. 22 December 2021, via T. Gosliner).
1 to 4) Features as A. gibbosa.
5) Orange pigment on distal part of appendages, a dorsal line from between the rhinophores to the tip of the tail interrupted by the gills, and a dorso-lateral line from each rhinophore to under the linear processes by the gills and a short distance beyond the posterior process (MacFarland, 1905). Sometimes the lines are broken or fragmentary.
6) “the largest specimen yet taken measured 29 mm in length” (MacFarland, 1966).
7) CO1 sequences of Californian A. pacifica differ by over 10% from those of Atlantic A. gibbosa in Europe and eastern America (BOLD).
Trapania pallida Kress, 1968 fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2mTTkqG , T. tartantella (Ihering, 1886) fig. 13 flic.kr/p/2mTS6mW and T. maculata Haefelfinger, 1960.
1) Single, elongate process curves backwards from the base of each rhinophore.
2) Single, elongate process curves backwards at each side of the gills.
3) Anterior of foot has distinct protruding propodial tentacles.
4) No linear processes on the anterior edge of the head.
5) Orange or yellow pigment conspicuous on body of T. tarantella and T. maculata; absent from T. pallida.
Polycera quadrilineata (O. F. Müller, 1776) fig. 14 flic.kr/p/2mTNQhF and P. faeroensis Lemche, 1929.
1) No elongate processes at base of rhinophore.
2) Single, not strongly-curved, backward-pointing, linear process at each side of the gills.
3) Anterior of foot expanded into unobtrusive, small, propodial tentacles.
4) Four or more linear processes on the anterior edge of the mantle over the head.
5) Orange or yellow lines and marks frequent on body of P. quadrilineata, but usually confined to appendages, a dorsal line posterior of the gills and, occasionally, thin lateral lines on P. faeroensis.
Habits and ecology
A. gibbosa lives on the lower shore and sublittorally to about 100 m. Formerly, it was thought to feed on compound ascidians (Thompson & Brown, 1984), but this was because it was found feeding on small, overlooked Entoprocta growing epizoically on the ascidians. It is also found on Entoprocta living on other sessile organisms fig. 15 flic.kr/p/2mTQ6ez and inanimate objects, even in unpromising habitats such as a sand bag embedded in sand in the Mersey Estuary fig. 16 flic.kr/p/2mTS6fd .
Like other nudibranchs, A. gibbosa is a simultaneous hermaphrodite. It deposits an irregularly curved ribbon of spawn which sometime forms loops. It may be wrapped around sessile organisms or attached by its edge to hard surfaces. Spawn masses have been recorded in most months in Britain fig. 17 flic.kr/p/2mTS6cY . Shelled veliger larvae hatch from the spawn and live in the plankton before transforming into adult form.
Discussion of distribution and status
There is uncertainty about the limits of distribution because a complex of imperfectly understood species is reported from the Atlantic and Pacific in literature and recording schemes as Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818) sensu lato. GBIF map www.gbif.org/species/2291976 . The following forms are based on morphological features visible in images, some molecular sequencing and geographical locations fig. 22 flic.kr/p/2mXXh6R . Further sequencing will probably necessitate re-evaluation of the situation. If you are able and willing to supply specimens in 95% ethanol alcohol of Ancula specimens from anywhere in the world to assist molecular research please contact Dr Marta Pola at marta.pola@uam.es
Form A
Form A has a translucent white body with orange or yellow pigment restricted to the tips of appendages and a dorsal line to the rear of the gills fig. 3 flic.kr/p/2mTTkPT . Some or all of the orange/yellow may be missing fig. 7 flic.kr/p/2mTNQHL ; the original description of the species by Risso (1818) seems to have been of an all-white specimen. Form A lacks any orange or yellow marks or lines on the main body in front of the gills.
This form is found on the coasts of Europe and, as the original description was made at Nice, should be accepted as Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818) sensu stricto. There are many records with photographs of it from Brittany northwards to the Arctic, except for the inner Baltic and parts of the southern North Sea. In Britain it is widespread but usually found in small numbers, perhaps owing to its small size and small, cryptic prey. U.K. distribution map, NBN species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000173816 .
In contrast, there are remarkably few records with images from further south than Brittany. Of over 200 images on Flickr www.flickr.com/search/?q=Ancula%20gibbosa (accessed 19 January 2022) not one was further south in Europe than Brittany. The image in a Galicia mollusc guide (Trigo et al., 2018) is of an Irish specimen, but there are online photographs from Galicia at www.asturnatura.com/fotografia/submarina-fotosub/ancula-g... . The only photographs I have found of a Mediterranean specimen are from the wreck of the Paguro drilling platform at about 20 m depth, 22 km offshore from Ravenna in the northern Adriatic fig. 18 flic.kr/p/2mY6FGi A large group of divers and shore workers who search for nudibranchs in Catalonia have found no A. gibbosa. The only record, without supporting image, in their area was a find on ascidians fouling a ship at Barcelona (Arias & Morales, 1963). It is possible that it was an alien stowaway or misidentification (M. Pontes, pers. comm. 5 January 2022). The only other published record of A. gibbosa in the Mediterranean traced by M. Pontes was of an apparently all-white specimen by Risso (1818) at the port of Nice where it appears that no further records of the species with images have been made in the two centuries since. An English translation of Risso’s imperfect description is provided in an appendix to this account. Another possible explanation for the scarcity of southern records is that A. gibbosa lives in the cooler water at greater depths beyond most diver activity in the Mediterranean and Portuguese Atlantic. Though the available southern specimens look like the northern ones, there remains the possibility that molecular sequencing might show genetic differences between them. If this proves the case, the northern specimens would probably revert to Ancula cristata (Alder, 1841) which was further described and illustrated in complete, precise detail in Alder and Hancock (1845-1855). That name was in general use until Thompson and Brown (1984) combined it with Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818).
Form B
Form B occurs on the Atlantic coast of North America from the St Lawrence Estuary to Maine or possibly Connecticut fig. 22 flic.kr/p/2mXXh6R . Seven of the eight images of it on iNaturalist (accessed January 2022) are all-white specimens fig. 19 flic.kr/p/2mTNQ8s resembling all-white specimens of form A; only one had yellow on the tips of some appendages and none had the orange or yellow dorsal line to the rear of the gills found on most of form A. The single publicly available sequence of an A. gibbosa from eastern North America in GenBank (KP340388) has a CO1 gene difference of 3.25% from European specimens in both GenBank and the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD), raising the possibility of it being considered as a species distinct from A. gibbosa sensu stricto (K. Fletcher, pers. comm. 28 December 2021).
Form C
Form C is known on the Pacific coast of North America, mainly British Columbia, Canada but extending from the southern tip of Alaska (Millen, 1989) southwards to the north of California (Bairstow, 2019) fig. 22 flic.kr/p/2mXXh6R . Sixteen of twenty images of it on iNaturalist (accessed January 2022) had small amounts of orange or yellow pigment on some appendages fig. 20 flic.kr/p/2mUcpLg , four were completely white and none had the orange or yellow dorsal line to the rear of the gills found on most of form A. Apart from the greater prevalence in the sample of orange or yellow tips on appendages it is very similar to form B in the Atlantic coast of North America. Clarification with molecular sequencing of the relationship between it and forms A and B is needed.
Form D
Form D is translucent white with plentiful opaque white spots, and white or yellowish white pigment on appendages. There is a clear photograph of it from Vancouver where it was found locally abundant on a muddy substrate fig. 21 flic.kr/p/2mUcpHq but it seems much rarer elsewhere than form C. Its extent beyond Vancouver is unknown, but two spotted-specimens regarded as A. gibbosa are described and illustrated from the Russian Far East in Chichvarkhin (2016, fig 3G) fig. 22 flic.kr/p/2mXXh6R . Currently, there are no public molecular sequences of spotted A. gibbosa from the eastern or western Pacific (J. Goddard, pers. comm. 27 December 2021, via K. Fletcher).
Form E
Form E is the Ancula pacifica of MacFarland (1905). It occurs on the Pacific coast of California and, sometimes in years of warm El Niño events such as 2015, Oregon and Washington, overlapping the southern limit of form C fig. 22 (Goddard, 1984; K. Fletcher and J. Goddard, pers. comm. 28 December 2021). It is easily distinguished from all the other forms by three orange lines, a dorsal and dorso-laterals, on the body in front of the gills fig. 11 flic.kr/p/2mTNQro . The lines are sometimes fragmented. There is over 10% difference between CO1 sequences of Californian A. pacifica and forms A and B in the Atlantic. See ‘Similar species’ above for more detail.
Line drawings of Japanese specimens in Baba (1990) resemble Californian Ancula pacifica with fragmentary three lines in front of the gills, and the text states, “my specimens are almost exactly the same as Ancula pacifica MacFarland, 1905 (s.s.) in the external body form, the dorsal color pattern and the internal structures such as the radular teeth and penial hooks.” Twelve photographs of Japanese specimens at en.seaslug.world/species/ancula_gibbosa/9002 (accessed January 2020) resemble the drawings in Baba (1990).
Californian Ancula pacifica MacFarland, 1905 is clearly a valid species, but molecular sequencing is required to ascertain its relationship with northern Pacific forms C and D and Japanese form E.
Appendix
Original description of Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818) as Tritonia gibbosa Risso, 1818 from Nice, France .
Latin
“T. bossue. T. gibbosa, N.
T. corpore albo, lutescente, dorso gibbosa; branchiis lateralibus, in seriebus sex dispositis, N.”
French
“Corps renflé, oblong, pointu postérieurement, d’un blanc jaunàtre, bombé en dessus, avec un espѐce de bosse denticulée au milieu du dos. Còtés latéraux garnis de six rangées de touffes de tubercules durs, irréguliers. Expansion membraneuse du dessous de la bouche arrondie. Tentacules blancs, leur tube divisé au sommet en trois languettes simples. Pied étroit , canaliculé blanchàtre pointillé de brun.
Long., 0012-0014; larg. 003-004. Appar. mars, avril. Séjour parmi les coralines.”
English translation
“T. hunchback. T. gibbosa“, N.
“T. body yellowish white, humped on the back; lateral gills, arranged in rows of six“ , N.
“Body swollen, oblong, pointed posteriorly, of a yellowish white, domed above, with a kind of denticulate bump in the middle of the back. Lateral sides furnished with six rows of tufts of hard, irregular tubercles. Membranous expansion of the underside of the mouth rounded. White tentacles, their tube divided at the top into three simple strips. Foot narrow, canaliculate whitish dotted with brown. Length 27-31.6 mm; width 6.8-9 mm. Appears in March April. Lives among Corallina.”
Parts of this description are difficult to understand and/or relate to body features of A. gibbosa. The translation was checked by French malacologists, who wrote “We have to admit that we also have difficulties with the description by Risso when looking at our photos. Even being native French speakers, we have problems understanding what he describes.” The description omits the diagnostic pair of processes at the base of each rhinophore, says the foot is dotted with brown, and seems to describe rhinophoral sheaths, making questionable the identity of what he described and the assumption that it is conspecific with Ancula cristata (Alder, 1841).
Acknowledgements
For use of images, I gratefully thank Jørn Ari, David Fenwick www.aphotomarine.com , Jeff Goddard, Filippo Ioni www.facebook.com/filippo.subegoist/ , Paula Lightfoot, Neil McDaniel, Poul E. Rasmussen and Sara Thiebaud. I thank Paul Brazier and Lucy Kay for specimens to photograph, and Marta Pola and Florence & Marc Cochu nature22.com/ for information. I am greatly indebted to Karin Fletcher and Jeff Goddard for detailed information and advice about anatomy and Atlantic and Pacific species in North America. I am grateful to Miquel Pontes opistobranquis.info/en/ for most useful information and literature about the status of A. gibbosa in Iberia and the Mediterranean.
References & links
Alder J. 1841. Observations on the genus Polycera with descriptions of two new British species. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 6: 337-342, pl. 9
www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/19590#page/376/mode/1up (As Polycera cristata on p. 340 and on plate X [error in text says IX] figs. 10, 11 and 12 at www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/19590#page/372/mode/1up )
Alder, J. & Hancock, A. 1845-1855. A monograph of the British nudibranchiate mollusca. London, Ray Society. Family 1 pl. 25 www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131598#page/218/mode/1up
Ancula gibbosa iNaturalist (Map tab) (Accessed 16 January 2022) www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47138-Ancula-gibbosa
Ancula gibbosa Seaslug World (accessed 17 January 2022)
en.seaslug.world/species/ancula_gibbosa
Arias, E. and Morales E. (1963). Ecología del Puerto de Barcelona y desarrollo de adherencias orgánicas sobre embarcaciones. Investigación Pesquera 24: 139-163.
digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/189189/1/Arias_Morales_19...
Baba, K. 1990. Notes on the rare genera Trapania and Ancula from Japan with the description of a new species (Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae). Venus, Japanese Journal of Malacology 49(1): 8-18. fig. 4
www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/venusjjm/49/1/49_KJ000043436...
Bairstow, A. 2019. Humped Ancula sea slug (Ancula gibbosa). [Image of unlined Ancula cf. gibbosa in Humboldt County, California] www.inaturalist.org/observations/28086517
Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. and Pontes, M. Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818). OPK Opistobranquis . Accessed 4 January 2022. opistobranquis.info/en/guia/nudibranchia/doridina/doridoi...
Behrens D.W. 2004. Pacific coast nudibranchs, supplement II new species to the Pacific coast and new information on the oldies. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 55 (2) : 11– 54.
researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/scipubs/pdfs/v55/...
Chichvarkhin, A. 2016. Shallow water sea slugs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) from the northwestern coast of the Sea of Japan, north of Peter the Great Bay, Russia. PeerJ 4:e2774 doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2774 (fig. 3G )
Goddard, J.H.R. (1984) The opisthobranchs of Cape Arago, Oregon, with notes on their biology and a summary of benthic opisthobranchs known from Oregon. The Veliger 27(2):143–163 www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/134487#page/159/mode/1up
Hallas, J.M., Chichvarkhin, A. and Gosliner, T.M. 2017. Aligning evidence: concerns regarding multiple sequence alignments in estimating the phylogeny of the Nudibranchia suborder Doridina. R. Soc. Open Sci. 4: 171095. doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171095
Harris J.K. 2011. A molecular phylogeny of Polyceridae (Nudibranchia) with comments on 'Phanerobranchia'. Unpublished M.S. Thesis, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California xi + 46 leaves; Major advisor: T. M. Gosliner, California Academy of Sciences. scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/1g05fh02k?locale=it
(Accessed 25 Dec 2021, but full thesis not seen. Sequence MF958422 of A. pacifica published in Hallas et al. 2017).
MacFarland, F. M. 1905. A preliminary account of the Dorididae of Monterey Bay, California. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 18: 35-54.
www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3336883#page/69/mode/1up
MacFarland, F. M. 1966. Studies of opisthobranchiate mollusks of the Pacific coast of North America. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 6: 1-546, pls. 1-72.
Millen, S.V. 1989. Opisthobranch range extensions in Alaska with the first records of Cuthona viridis (Forbes, 1840) from the Pacific. The Veliger 32(1): 64–68. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/137792#page/76/mode/1up
Nakano, R. 2018. Field Guide to Sea Slugs and Nudibranchs of Japan. Tokyo, Japan, Bun-ichi Co. Ltd. 544pp. [in Japanese].
Paz-Sedano, S., Díaz Agras, G., Gosliner, T.M. and Pola, M. 2021.
Revealing morphological characteristics of Goniodorididae genera (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) Organisms Diversity & Evolution. Springer.
link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13127-021-00508-w.pdf
Risso, A. 1818. Mémoire sur quelques Gastropodes nouveaux, Nudibranches et Tectibranches observés dans la mer de Nice. J. Phys. Chim. Hist. Nat. 87: 368-377. See p. 371 www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/29610#page/387/mode/1up
Rudman, W.B. Ancula gibbosa (Risso, 1818). Sea Slug Forum. www.seaslugforum.net/find/ancugibb (Accessed December 2021.)
Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. 1984. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs 2. London, Ray Society.
Trigo, J.E.; Diaz Agras, G.J.; Garcia Alvarez, O.L.; Guerra, A.; Moreira, J.; Pérez, J.; Rolán, E.; Troncoso, J.S,; Urgorri, V.. 2018. Guia de los Moluscos Marinos de Galicia. Servicio de Publicacións da Universidade de Vigo.
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140029
Glossary
BOLD = Barcode of Life Database www.barcodinglife.org
buccal mass = organ system just inside the mouth that includes the odontophore, radula, and a complex of muscles to operate them. In some nudibranchs, including species of Ancula, this mass also includes a round, muscular buccal pump enabling suctorial ingestion of food.
circum-oesophageal nerve ring = ganglia-bearing nerve cord which encircles the oesophagus.
digestive gland = large organ in gastropods which acts like the liver and pancreas in mammals to absorb food.
distal = away from centre of body or from point of attachment.
Entoprocta = (a.k.a. Kamptozoa) a phylum of small, <7 mm, goblet-shaped, sessile animals. See www.seaslugforum.net/find/kamptozoa
epizoic = growing or living on the exterior of a living animal.
ganglia = (sing. ganglion) swellings of the nervous system composed of clusters of nerve cells linked by synapses; they help process sensory stimuli and control organs.
hermaphrodite, simultaneous = individual acts as both male and female at the same time with similar partner(s).
lamellae = (sing. lamella) gill leaflets or small plates on rhinophores on nudibranchs.
mantle = (of nudibranchs) sheet of tissue forming part or all of notum (dorsal body surface).
oesophagus = tube from mouth to stomach.
ovotestis = (pl. ovotestes) hermaphrodite organ serving as both ovary and testis.
pallial = (adj.) of, relating to, or produced by the mantle (pallium).
papilla = (pl. papillae) small, nipplelike, sensory protruberance.
plankton = animals and plants that drift in pelagic zone (main body of water).
propodial = at the front of the foot.
radula = chitinous ribbon of teeth; extended on odontophore to acquire food.
sensu lato = (abbreviation s.l.) in the wide sense, possibly an aggregate of more than one species.
sessile = (adj.) of immobile animals living attached to substrate or other organisms.
tripinnate = (of gill plume) threefold branching; “trunk, boughs, branches”.
veliger = shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which moves by action of cilia on a velum (bilobed flap). Stage may be passed in plankton or within liquid-filled egg-capsule.
WoRMS = World Register of Marine Species
I came across this little booklet only recently and was rather taken in by the strange illustrations scattered amongst the text, seen in a section at the end of the book and on this striking cover. Published by Hastings House of New York the glossary was issued by the Columbia Broadcasting System Inc to explain radio terms in use - even TV described as 'Columbia's proposed live talking pictures on the screen in your living room'! Annoyingly no artist or designer is shown - the work reminds me of someone but I cannot but my finger on a name.
Can you spell bioturbation? Sometimes scientists throw a glossary at a problem when a few 10c words will do.
All bioturbation means is that some organism or other has stirred up a sediment after it was deposited. The whole idea started with Charles Darwin and his fascination with earthworms. Fair enough too. Now everyone, me included, has jumped on the bandwagon.
You can see a stripe running down centre frame and crossing through at least three sedimentary layers. I've called them "wormholes" before. There aren't any preserved remains of their diggers so they could have been something else. The reason this stripe stands out is whatever dug this burrow removed what was in its hole. Then later on that hole filled up with whatever was being deposited at the time. That time? About 300 million years ago; the Permian.
So instead of a nice orderly layering, it's mixed up. That's bioturbation for you!
The adult shell is ovoid and is likened to a coffee bean in Dutch, French and Norwegian and to a kernel of oats in Scots.
Profile of right side (R) and left (L) when in living position.
1: approximate position of enveloped spire at posterior.
2 - 2: apertural face (ventral on live animal) is white.
3: dorsal and lateral faces have pinkish shell-material deposited in grooves.
4: no varix on columellar side of body-whorl; whorl bulges down centrally.
5: thickened white labial varix near palatal lip.
Adult, height (longest dimension) 10.8 mm. August 2010. Menai Strait, Wales.
Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW
PDF available at www.researchgate.net/publication/377074913_Trivia_monacha...
OTHER SPECIES: www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Trivia monacha (da Costa, 1778)
Synonyms: Cypraea monacha da Costa, 1778 ; Cypraea europaea Montagu, 1808 [ = aggregate of T. monacha and T. arctica in Forbes & Hanley, Jeffreys, and many authors pre-1925]; Cypraea europaea var. tripunctata Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1883.
Meaning of name: Trivia (Latin) = a common thing
monacha (Greek) = solitary, or (Latin) = nun.
Vernacular: Spotted cowrie (English); Gevlekt koffieboontje (Dutch); Porcelaine tachetée (French).
Names applied to both T. monacha and T. arctica: European cowrie, nun, sea-cradle, maiden, stick-farthing, (English); Groatie-buckie (Scots); Cragen Fair (Welsh); Europäische Kauri (German); Pucelage; Pou-de-mer; Porcelaine puce; Grain de café (French); Kaffebønne (Norwegian); Freirinha (Portuguese) .
GLOSSARY below.
Adult shell description
In Britain, adult shells are usually not less than 10 mm and up to 13 mm high (longest dimension of shell) by about 8 mm wide 1Tm flic.kr/p/CEqony . They are broadest towards the apical end. Pelseneer (1932), in Lebour (1933), states height extremes are 8.35 to 15.4mm. The adult shell is ovoid with a flatter apertural/ventral face 2Tm flic.kr/p/CGERbH which is likened to a coffee bean in Dutch, French and Norwegian and to a kernel of oats in Scots. The adult shell is convolute, meaning that all earlier whorls are hidden from view by the enveloping final whorl. A slight pimple or mound on the posterior end sometimes indicates the position of the hidden apex. It is solidly built with a sculpture of 20 to 25 ribs crossing entire the shell with a few short intervening ribs. The grooves are about the same width as the ribs. Nearly always, some of the ribs of left and right sides are not perfectly aligned where they meet on the dorsum 04.1Tm flic.kr/p/2nuUyie & 04.2Tm flic.kr/p/2pog9zY .There is a thickened white labial varix on the palatal side of the aperture 2Tm flic.kr/p/CGERbH .
The aperture is a gently curved slit along the entire height of the shell. It is positioned ventrally on the living animal. The outer (palatal) lip of the aperture curves out of sight into the interior of the shell 1Tm flic.kr/p/CEqony . The columellar region is a concave furrow and its ribs protrude as teeth. An expansion of the aperture at the anterior forms an inhalant siphonal canal, and an expansion at the posterior forms an exhalant siphonal canal.
Colour: the opaque shell is white internally and externally, apart from a thin external pinkish layer deposited, when adult, in the grooves dorsally and laterally by the external mantle 3Tm flic.kr/p/BSsv7u The mantle also deposits three pitch-brown/black dorsal marks on the shell dorsally 4Tm flic.kr/p/BSstYs . The posterior mark is usually the largest. Colours may fade after death 1Tm flic.kr/p/CEqony and all colours may be bleached white if exposed to the sun. The ribs and median dorsal stripe receive variable amounts of pigmented layer so may be tinted slightly or remain whitish 4Tm flic.kr/p/BSstYs . The ventral/apertural surface and labial varix are white 2Tm flic.kr/p/CGERbH . The shells of live animals are glossy and lack erosion or epizooic growths as they are protected and maintained by the mantle which is able to continue shell deposition on the exterior 1Tm flic.kr/p/CEqony . There is no operculum or periostracum on adults.
Post-veliger shell development
Metamorphosis occurs when the echinospira shell is about 1.6 mm diameter (Lebour, 1933). As the outer layer is cast off then (Fretter & Graham, 1962) the initial post-veliger shell is probably smaller.
The flimsy white juvenile shell, lacking operculum or periostracum grows up to 12 mm high and changes form as it grows 5Tm flic.kr/p/BSzH7X & 6Tm flic.kr/p/CnQVrj . Stages A-G, below, merge into each other. Sizes are of specimens photographed; but changes can occur at other sizes because of individual variation.
A) juvenile up to c 3.5 mm high:
The ovoid body whorl makes up 92-96% of the shell height 6.2Tm flic.kr/p/CAtAUh . The very small, 1.2 mm diameter, spire making 4-8% of the shell height, consists of the one and a half whorls of the discoid larval protoconch. It is glossier than the rest of the shell 6.1Tm flic.kr/p/DopySS . There is no umbilicus and no sculpture apart from fine prosocline growth lines. The D-shaped aperture is 82-96% of the shell height. It is wide open basally and narrows adapically 6.3Tm flic.kr/p/CAAqtc . The adapical angle is narrow. The palatal (outer) lip is thin and semi-circular and there is a short, thin columellar lip basally.
B) juvenile 6.4 mm high: 7Tm flic.kr/p/CnQU5S
The shell is as at stage A, except that it has developed a distinct spire, 15.5% of the shell height, of 3-4 convex whorls with distinct sutures. The body whorl is c. 92% of shell height and the D-shaped aperture c. 84% of shell height. The adapical angle of the aperture is c. 25º.
C) juvenile 9.3 mm high: 8Tm flic.kr/p/CEqegY
The shell is more ovoid and the body whorl and aperture are 100% of shell height. Most snails increase the relative length of spire with growth at this stage, but on Trivia it is reduced to 5% of height, and exposed level with the top of body whorl. The adapical angle is wider and the columellar lip is no longer differentiated.
D) juvenile 9.6 mm high: 9Tm flic.kr/p/CGEGxa
The spire is c. 3% of shell height. A sculpture of ribs and grooves has commenced formation on the apertural face (ventral face when animal alive). It now has a gently curved linear aperture, as on adults but wider, and the palatal lip is bent into the aperture so its edge is hidden.
E) juvenile 11.7 mm high: 10Tm flic.kr/p/CnQPZs
The spire is c. 2.5% of height and there is a slight development of ribs on the abapertural (dorsal) surface. At this stage the shell is often larger than some adults. This appears to because the mantle changes in parts to resorb, instead of deposit, calcium carbonate during the change to adult. This was disputed by Forbes & Hanley (1853), but close examination of specimens undergoing the change show grooves cut below the level of the yet unaffected juvenile areas of the shell, leaving ribs of juvenile shell between the grooves 11Tm flic.kr/p/2ijnsgt .
F) pre-adult:
Post-veliger juvenile shells grow in the normal three-layered spiral fashion of most other snails (Meyer & Paulay, 2005). This changes as the transition to adult takes place when i) the spire is completely enveloped by the body whorl, ii) the shell is thickened mainly internally, but also externally, with layers of differing crystalline structure, iii) the ribs form teeth along both sides of the narrowed aperture and along inhalant and exhalant siphonal canals, iv) ribs and grooves complete formation ventrally and dorsally on the body-whorl.
G) adult: 1Tm flic.kr/p/CEqony
Shell development is completed with deposition dorsally by the extended mantle of a thin, outermost pinkish layer, mainly in the grooves 3Tm flic.kr/p/BSsv7u Ventrally, the shell remains white. For short time until three blotches of pitch-brown/black pigment are deposited on the dorsum of the shell it may resemble T. arctica.
Body description
Morphologically, apart from reproductive organs, the soft body parts are similar on adults and post-veliger juveniles, but pigmentation is paler and pattern differs on juveniles.
The flattened head is flanked by stout eye-peduncles fused to the bases of the cephalic tentacles. On adults it is red-brown, red, orange or sulphur-yellow, sometimes with yellow spots. On juveniles it is whitish. It can open-wide 12Tm flic.kr/p/CPXZXi or fold-shut 13Tm flic.kr/p/CPXYNp along the ventral mid-line where there is an unobtrusive, small snout with an opening to a pouch containing the feeding proboscis 14Tm flic.kr/p/CGEAQ8 . The cephalic tentacles are long, slender, translucent and the same range of colours as the head, but sometimes a paler shade 15Tm flic.kr/p/CEq61j & 16Tm flic.kr/p/CPXUjp , often with opaque, hyphen-like streaks of yellow or, on juveniles, white.
The long inhalant siphon, a rolled extension of the mantle13Tm flic.kr/p/CPXYNp , is coloured as the head or, often, a stronger shade and sometimes with black flecks flic.kr/p/aaiJPB (D. Cooke). It protrudes, usually held erect, from a short, wide anterior siphonal-canal in the shell; 13Tm flic.kr/p/CPXYNp . An exhalant siphon formed by fold of mantle rests within posterior siphonal canal of the shell 17Tm flic.kr/p/CEq373 & 14Tm flic.kr/p/CGEAQ8 . The much thickened and lobulated, translucent mantle can extend over the entire exterior of the shell 18Tm flic.kr/p/BSzrtH . On adults it is usually whitish ventrally and greyish laterally and dorsally, with dark marks, often merging into lines aligned over the underlying shell-grooves 13Tm flic.kr/p/CPXYNp . The mantle rim usually has an uninterrupted orange border of varying intensity 15Tm flic.kr/p/CEq61j . The hue of the grey areas and dark marks varies between individuals; they may be blue-grey, purple-grey or purple-brown flic.kr/p/bMBBvt (J. Weir) and may be suffused orange. Colour saturation varies between individuals, and on any individual increases with degree of mantle contraction. Specimens from southern locations tend to have more saturated colours, including dark brown. Light yellow or whitish papillae protrude from the mantle 19Tm flic.kr/p/BSzpw6 They vary in number, size and shape and are sometimes absent and sometimes extremely prominent and branched. They are usually more prominent on juveniles 20Tm flic.kr/p/CgsBYc . The mantle on juveniles is translucent, dingy buff-white with fine grey/black particles which coalesce to form spots grouped into dark discs 21Tm flic.kr/p/CMDZUG .
The foot is very extensile 22Tm flic.kr/p/CgszG8 . Its dorsal surface is translucent, pale-yellow, yellow or orange-reddish with many distinct opaque yellow or whitish lines of uniform width 22Tm flic.kr/p/CgszG8 . Lines are absent or few on the peripheral chamfer 19Tm flic.kr/p/BSzpw6 . Juveniles also have distinct opaque lines, but the rest of the foot is almost colourless 21.1Tm flic.kr/p/2dgQKdc & 21Tm flic.kr/p/CMDZUG . The foot anterior is bilaminate and often spread into an axe-head shape. It tapers slightly to a rounded posterior 12Tm flic.kr/p/CPXZXi . The sole is coloured as the dorsum of the foot or paler flic.kr/p/aaiJPB (Duncan Cooke), but without opaque lines 13Tm flic.kr/p/CPXYNp & 23Tm flic.kr/p/CMDWvY . It has a median groove containing a posterior pedal gland 12Tm flic.kr/p/CPXZXi . Unlike most gastropods with single columellar muscle, Trivia has two attached to the columellar region because of the expanded body whorl.
The long, yellow, unipectinate ctenidium and a shorter yellow bipectinate osphradium with larger lamellae are sometimes indistinctly visible in the mantle cavity through the translucent shell of juveniles 24Tm flic.kr/p/BSs3ay . A long, filiform, cylindrical, sickle-shape penis arises behind and below the right tentacle on males.
Key identification features
Trivia monacha
1) Adult shell has three pitch-brown/black dorsal marks 4Tm flic.kr/p/BSstYs . (Similar marks on extended mantle of T. arctica 25Tm flic.kr/p/CGEkHz often mistaken for them.)
2)The dorsal surface of the foot of T. monacha at all stages is covered by a network of opaque yellow or white lines 22Tm flic.kr/p/CgszG8 . * Most reliable diagnostic feature.
3) Juveniles with smooth white shells 05Tm flic.kr/p/BSzH7X cannot be differentiated from T. arctica, unless the dorsal surface of the foot is covered by a network of white or yellow lines 21Tm flic.kr/p/CMDZUG .
4) Final stage juveniles of both T. arctica and T. monacha have adult-like ribs but are white and lack pigment blotches. T. monacha can be identified by the dorsal surface of the foot having a network of lines or by the dorsal misalignment of some shell ribs from left and right sides 04.2Tm flic.kr/p/2pog9zY & 04.1Tm flic.kr/p/2nuUyie . The same applies to bleached dead adult shells.
5) Extended mantle of T. monacha is varied but usually has an unbroken orange border at the edge not accompanied three large pitch-brown/black blotches on the mantle 15Tm flic.kr/p/CEq61j .
6) Filiform, cylindrical penis on males (Lebour, 1933).
7) Veliger larvae have almost black intestines and stomach, and a dark digestive gland. Late stage veligers have a slight lateral bay in the vela, but insufficient to change them into four long thin lobes 26Tm flic.kr/p/BSzfyr (Lebour, 1933).
8) 3.5mm (and larger) post-veliger juveniles have orange or bright yellow soft parts 8Tm flic.kr/p/CEqegY , and grey/black particles which coalesce to form spots grouped into dark discs scattered over the mantle 21Tm flic.kr/p/CMDZUG (Lebour, 1931 & 1933).
9) Egg capsules with orange eggs are embedded in compound ascidian with the neck projecting from the surface, April to September in southern England 29Tm flic.kr/p/BSzbSZ
Similar species
Trivia arctica (Pulteney, 1799)
1). Adult pink shell has no pitch-brown/black dorsal marks 27Tm flic.kr/p/Cgstva but dark dorsal blotches on rim of fully extended mantle of adult T. arctica are often confused with marks on shell of T. monacha.
2) The translucent whitish to yellowish or reddish orange dorsal surface of the foot of T. arctica often has a few irregular opaque marks, but is not covered by a network of opaque yellow or white lines 25Tm flic.kr/p/CGEkHz . * Most reliable diagnostic feature.
3) Post veliger juvenile T. arctica with smooth white shells 25.1Tm flic.kr/p/2poyg11 cannot be differentiated from juvenile T. monacha, unless the dorsal surface of the foot is seen to be not covered by a network of white or yellow lines.
4) Final stage juveniles of both T. arctica and T. monacha have adult-like ribs but are white and lack pigment blotches 25.2Tm flic.kr/p/2pos63i . T. arctica can be identified by the dorsal surface of the foot lacking a network of lines, or by the perfect dorsal alignment dorsally of the shell ribs from left and right sides 04.1Tm flic.kr/p/2nuUyie . The same applies to bleached dead adult shells.
5) Extended mantle of T. arctica has pitch-brown/black dorsal marks, varying in size and number, but often three, where edges meet 25Tm flic.kr/p/CGEkHz . Juvenile has grey/black particles that do not coalesce to form dark discs elsewhere on mantle. (Lebour, 1933).
6) Large flat leaf-like penis on males of T. arctica (Lebour, 1933).
7) Veliger larvae of T. arctica have yellowish intestines, and very little dark pigment on sides of stomach; always has less pigment than T.monacha larvae. Late stage veligers have velum of four long lobes 26Tm flic.kr/p/BSzfyr .
8) 3.5 mm post-veliger juveniles of T. arctica have yellowish (not orange or bright yellow) soft-parts with minute dispersed blackish-purple spots on exposed mantle, not congregated into disc-shaped groups (Lebour, 1933).
9 Transparent egg capsules of T. arctica, unknown until 2017, are embedded in compound ascidian with neck projecting from surface 29Tm flic.kr/p/BSzbSZ , veligers in plankton from January to May in southern England.
Marsenia perspicua (Linnaeus, 1758) 28Tm flic.kr/p/CMDRSu
Inhalant siphon and sometimes roughened surface resemble Trivia.
Mantle halves fused so never retract to expose shell.
Fragile, white, internal, ear-shape shell.
Transparent egg-capsules with white eggs embedded in compound ascidian with lid flush with surface apart from rim 30Tm flic.kr/p/CGEfeZ
Simnia patula (Pennant, 1777) 30.1Tm flic.kr/p/2poBvEJ
Juvenile shells of T. monacha might be mistaken for S. patula.
Shell drawn out into anterior and posterior siphonal canals.
Two sides of exterior mantle meet on right side of shell, not along median line.
Mantle white or orange with orange or red transverse lines.
S. patula lives 15-75m deep and not intertidally.
Erato voluta (Montagu, 1803) 31Tm flic.kr/p/2nbh6xM
Strong shell, height 10 mm, retains exposed spire throughout life.
Stout inhalent siphon.
Animal narrower at anterior, reflecting the shape of the concealed shell.
White spots on tentacles.
Two sides of dark, papillate mantle meet at dorsal median line, small gap shows white shell.
Exotic cowries
Attractive tropical cowries and smaller, duller ones used in school bean-bags and historically used as currency are dropped by humans on beaches and washed up in the Netherlands from historical shipwrecks.
Habits and ecology
T. monacha is a southern species reaching its northern limit in Britain. It is usually found near its ascidian prey on hard substrate at LWS and sublittorally in coastal waters but only occasionally in deeper water (Lebour, 1933). It is usually, but not always, the commoner or only Trivia species living on shores. It feeds on Diplosoma listerianum especially var. gelatinosum, the preferred food near Plymouth (Lebour, 1933). It also eats Polyclinum aurantium, the preferred food in Brittany (Pelseneer, 1926), Botryllus schlosseri, especially the yellow and orange forms, Trididemnum and Botrylloides leachi.
T. monacha examines the surface of ascidians with its inhalant siphon and, from a pouch in the head 14Tm flic.kr/p/CGEAQ8 , extends a proboscis containing the radula and jaws to cut through the test to access the zooid. Test and zooid are ingested. Fragments of the indigestible test are voided in faecal rods or pellets. The prey ingested in a feeding session can be up to 50% of the Trivia's volume. Disc-shape dark blotches on the mantles of juveniles have a marked resemblance to the surface of some compound ascidians 24Tm flic.kr/p/BSs3ay .
The bilaminate anterior of the foot contains the anterior pedal gland which produces mucus to aid locomotion 23Tm flic.kr/p/CMDWvY and the posterior pedal gland in the sole also produces mucus to assist movement. There are many other glands in the sole and mantle which exude a variety of secretions which are not all mucal, and probably some are repugnatory.
For respiration, water is taken in through a long inhalant siphon projecting from the anterior siphonal canal of shell. It passes into the mantle cavity 12Tm flic.kr/p/CPXZXi where an osphradium tests the water quality before it passes through the ctenidium. Water leaves via the exhalant siphon 14Tm flic.kr/p/CGEAQ8 in the posterior siphonal canal. Breeding near Plymouth is in late spring and summer. The female is fertilized internally by the long, filiform, cylindrical penis of the male. The broad mantle cavity enables passage of large egg capsules 12Tm flic.kr/p/CPXZXi . The capsule is a 3 mm diameter spherical flask with a 2 mm high funnel shaped neck which is plugged at the base. It is inserted in hole bitten into a compound ascidian with the upper half of the neck protruding 29Tm flic.kr/p/BSzbSZ & 30Tm flic.kr/p/CGEfeZ . The extended ventral pedal gland of the female drives the capsule into the bitten cavity and gives final shape to funnel. There are about 800 yellow-orange ova in each capsule. Its echinospira larvae are found in coastal plankton from April to September (Fretter & Graham, 1962). The larvae have two lobes (vela), each with a slight lateral bay but insufficient to be regarded as a four-lobed larva 26Tm flic.kr/p/BSzfyr . The echinospira larva has double shell. The exterior shell is flimsy, transparent, colourless and shiny. Fretter & Graham (1962) interpreted it as a periostracum layer separated from the calcareous shell. The gap between shells is filled with seawater. This decreases the specific gravity of the veliger to near-neutral buoyancy, and the increased surface area slows the rate of sinking, so easing the effort needed to orientate and maintain position in the water column (McCloskey, 1972). The inner calcareous shell contains the larval animal. Though T. monacha has larger adults than T. arctica its larvae are smaller at equivalent stages and its vela are less developed probably because it is more coastal and needs less power to maintain position in the water column. At metamorphosis the larval operculum and outer shell/periostracum are shed and the mantle spreads over the exterior of the inner shell. “The number of old [adult] shells taken surprisingly exceeds that of the young.” (Forbes & Hanley, 1853); this might be explained by poor survival of thin, fragile, dead juvenile shells on strandlines, but live juveniles are much rarer than live adults on suitable shores, although, when present, several may be found at the same location. Divers seem to see juveniles more often. Juveniles assume the adult form about six months after metamorphosis. (See “Post-veliger shell development” section, above).
Distribution and status
Live T. monacha are found from Shetland and Normandy to Gibraltar and the western Mediterranean. Some dead shells have been found offshore in Dutch and German waters and worn fossil or strandline shells have been recorded in the Netherlands, but these probably originate from distant times or places . GBIF map www.gbif.org/species/5192813 . It lives on hard substrate all round Britain and Ireland, except it is absent or scarce in the north-east Irish Sea, from Flamborough Head to Kent and much of the east coast of Scotland. U.K. map NBN species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000178459
Acknowledgements
For specimens and/or use of images I gratefully thank Maëlan Adam, Jim Anderson, Karen Boswarva, Pierre Corbrion, Dick Hoeksema, Jan Light, Paula Lightfoot, Joanne Porter, Sankurie Pye, Chris Rickard, Ana Rodrigues and Stefan Verheyen.
Links and references
Browne, E.T. 1898. On keeping medusae alive in an aquarium. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. 5 (2): 176-180. [Description of “plunger jar” used by Lebour to rear Trivia] plymsea.ac.uk/192/
Forbes, E. & Hanley S. 1849-53. A history of the British mollusca and their shells. vol. 3 (1853), London, van Voorst. (As Cypræa europæa [agg.] ; pp. 495-497. archive.org/stream/ahistorybritish05forbgoog#page/n508/mo...
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1962. British prosobranch molluscs. London, Ray Society.
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1981. The prosobranch molluscs of Britain and Denmark. Part 6 – Cerithiacea, Strombacea, Hipponicacea, Calyptraeacea, Lamellariacea, Cypraeacea, Naticacea, Tonnacea, Heteropoda. J. Moll. Stud. Suppl. 9: 285-363.
Graham, A. 1988. Prosobranch and pyramidellid gastropods. London.
Høisæter, T. 2009. Distribution of marine, benthic, shell bearing gastropods along the Norwegian coast. Fauna norvegica 28: 5-106.
www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/fauna_norvegica/article/view/563
Jeffreys, J.G. 1862-69. British conchology. vol. 4 (186). London, van Voorst. (As Cypræa europæa [agg.];
archive.org/stream/britishconcholog04jeff#page/402/mode/2up
Lebour, M.V. 1931. The larval stages of Trivia europea. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. 17(3): 819-832. [Aggregate species, but nearly all details are of T. monacha.] plymsea.ac.uk/698/
Lebour, M.V. 1933. The British species of Trivia: T. arctica and T. monacha. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. 18(2): 477-484.
McCloskey, L.R. 1972. Development and ecological aspects of the echinospira shell of Lamellaria rhombica Dall (Prosobranchia; Mesogastropoda). Ophelia 10 (2): 155-168.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00785326.1972.10430111
McKay, D. & Smith, S.M. 1979. Marine mollusca of East Scotland. Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.
Meyer, C. & Paulay, G. 2005. Shell microstructure. Cowrie Genetic Database Project, Florida Museum of Natural History.
www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cowries/microstructure.html
Pelseneer, P. 1926. Note d'embryologie malacologique. Ponte et développement de Cypræa europea, etc. Bull. Biol. de la France et de la Belgique 60 (1): 88-112. [Cited in Lebour, 1933, as having mistakenly interchanged descriptions of penes of T. monacha and T. arctica]
Pelseneer, P. 1932. La métamorphose préadulte des Cypræidæ. Bull. Biol. de la France et de la Belgique 66 (2): 149-163. [Cited in Lebour, 1933, as having corrected mistaken interchange made in 1926 of descriptions of penes of T. monacha and T. arctica]
Van Nieulande, F.A.D., Hoeksema, D.F., Nijhuis, H.W. & Rijken, A.C. 2022. De fossiele schelpen van de Nederlandse kust II, deel 17. Velutinidae, Triviidae, Eratoidae en Ovulidae Spirula 431: 16 – 25. www.researchgate.net/publication/360897905_De_fossiele_sc...
Ziegelmeier, E. 1966. Die Schnecken(Gastropoda Prosobranchia) der deutschen Meeresgebiete und brackigen Küstengewässer. Helgolander Wiss. Meeresunters 13, 1–61 hmr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/bf01612655
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=141744
Glossary
adapical = towards the apex of the shell.
aperture = mouth of gastropod shell; outlet for head and foot.
bipectinate = like feather with central axis and series of filaments or lamellae on either side.
cephalic = (adj.) of or on the head.
columella = “little column” around which gastropod shell spirals.
columellar = (adj.) of or near central axis of spiral gastropod.
columellar lip = lower (abapical) part of inner lip of aperture.
convolute = (adj.) last whorl of gastropod-shell envelopes and conceals all earlier whorls e.g. Trivia and Simnia.
echinospira = special form of drifting larva with an inner and outer shell.
epizooic = (adj.) of non-parasitic organisms living on surface of animals.
epizooid = (n.) non-parasitic organism living on surface of animal.
ctenidium = comb-like molluscan gill; usually an axis with a row of filaments or lamellae on one or two sides.
ELWS = extreme low water spring tide (usually near March and September equinoxes).
height = (of gastropod shells) distance from apex of spire to base of aperture, but, as apex concealed, the longest dimension on Trivia.
labial varix = especially strong or broad costa (rib) along or near outer lip of aperture.
mantle = sheet of tissue which secretes the shell and forms a cavity for the gill in most marine molluscs. Confined to the shell-interior of most British shelled-gastropods, but can cover exterior also on Trivia.
operculum = plate of horny conchiolin used to close shell aperture. Absent from Trivia.
osphradium = organ for testing water quality (chemical and/or for particles) usually near ctenidium (gill).
papilla = (pl. papillae) small cone-shaped protrusion of flesh.
papillate = covered in papillae.
periostracum = thin horny layer of chitinous material often coating shells.
plankton = animals and plants which drift in pelagic zone (main body of water).
suture = groove or line where whorls of gastropod shell adjoin.
test = (of ascidian) outer cellulose sheath containing zooid.
umbilicus = cavity up axis of some gastropods, open as a hole or chink on base of shell, often sealed over.
unipectinate = with axis and series of filaments or lamellae on one side.
veliger = shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which swims by beating cilia of a velum (bilobed flap).
Anthony Burgess - A Clockwork Orange
Penguin Books 3219, 1972
Cover Artist: David Pelham; movie tie-in
Following Germano Facetti's departure in 1972, David Pelham's role as fiction art director expanded to cover all the books that Penguin published. It was also the year that Penguin published A Clockwork Orange to coincide with the release of Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation, which the novel's author Anthony Burgess later described as 'clockwork marmalade'.
The novel was not part of a Penguin sf series and Pelham had not been expecting to do the cover, but the designer he commissioned kept asking for more time and eventually submitted 'a very poor job very late'. Pelham had no option but to reject it, 'which was a hateful thing to have to do because we were now right out of time' and he had to come up with an alternative cover literally overnight. This he did, with a cog for an eye that brilliantly alludes to both clockwork and the protagonist Alex, who wears black mascara in Kubrick's film and has his eyes pinned open for Ludovico conditioning.
To Pelham's surprise his cog-eyed droog went on to acquire iconic status and is now regarded as one of the best book covers of all time. It is probably the longest serving cover of all time too, since it remained in use for over twenty-five years, except for a reprint in 1973 which retained the strap-line 'A TERRIFYING NOVEL ... NOW A TERRIFYING FILM' but used the artwork from Philip Castle's film poster.
Clockwork Controversy:
Myth: Anthony Burgess disliked the American ending of his novel, which omitted his final chapter.
Fact: Burgess was unsure about how to end his novel from the beginning. He liked the American ending and authorised its publication. It was only later in life that he preferred the British ending.
Anthony Burgess’s 1961 manuscript of A Clockwork Orange has a handwritten note at the foot of the twentieth chapter:
‘Should we end here? An optional “epilogue” follows.’
This ‘epilogue’ was published in the first British edition of the novel as the twenty-first chapter.
In this final chapter Alex, abruptly and surprisingly, grows up. Although he is still only eighteen, he says that he wishes to get married and have a baby. He even carries a picture of a small child in his wallet. His musical tastes also change: he now prefers the softer music of Lieder to the banging and crashing of Beethoven’s symphonies. And he decides that he has outgrown his life of crime. This change of heart in the final chapter dramatically alters the meaning of the novel.
In 1963 the American publishers W.W. Norton released a shorter version of A Clockwork Orange which omitted the final chapter. In this version, Alex is left unreformed, ‘carving the whole litso of the creeching world with my britva.’ The book ends with the words: ‘I was cured all right.’
The authority for this editorial decision came from Burgess himself, who discussed the ending in an exchange of letters with his American editor. He agreed with the suggestion that the dropping of the final chapter made for a more convincing ending. Much later, in the 1980s, Burgess claimed that he had been put under pressure to change the structure of the book, but it is clear that he approved the decision to cut the final chapter in 1963.
It was the shorter novel, with the darker ending of chapter 20, which became widely known when Stanley Kubrick followed it in his film adaptation in 1971. What is less well known is that Burgess himself had written an earlier film script in 1966, and in this version of the story he also leaves out the twenty-first chapter.
The ambivalence Burgess felt about the ending of A Clockwork Orange appeared many times in interviews and articles. Speaking to the Paris Review in 1973, he said that he ‘gave in a little too weakly’ to the suggestion that his final chapter should be removed. However, in the same interview he states that he had been persuaded by critics that the ‘American’ ending was stronger. He added: ‘I’m not able to judge for myself now as to whether I was right or wrong.’
It was not until 1986 that the twenty-first chapter was published in the United States. Burgess wrote in his introduction to the new Norton edition:
Readers of the twenty-first chapter must decide for themselves whether it enhances the book they presumably know or is really a discardable limb. I meant the book to end in this way, but my aesthetic judgments may have been faulty.
Vanessa cardui is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan.
Description
For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.
See also: Cynthia (butterfly) § Distinguishing features
Wing scales.
Male and female. Upperside. Ground-colour reddish-ochreous, basal areas olivescent-ochreous-brown; cilia black, alternated with white, Forewing with an outwardly-oblique black irregular-shaped broken band crossing from middle of the cell to the disc above the submedian vein; the apical area from end of cell and the exterior border also black; before the apex is a short white outwardly-oblique streak and a curved row of four round spots, the second and third being small; a marginal pale lunular line with its upper portion most defined and whitish. Hind-wing with a blackish patch from the costal vein across end of cell, a partly confluent recurved discal band, a submarginal row of lunules, and then a marginal row of somewhat scutiform spots; between the discal band and submarginal lunules is a row of five round black spots, which in some examples show a pale and dark outer ring. Underside. Forewing brighter reddish-ochreous, the apical area and outer margin much paler, the apex being olivescent ochreous-brown; discal irregular band as above, subapical white streak, row of spots and marginal lunules distinct; base of wing and interspace before end of cell white. Hindwing transversely-marbled with olivescent ochreous-brown and speckled with black scales; crossed by basal and discal sinuous whitish or pale fascia and intersected by white veins; an outer-discal row of five ocelli, the upper one smallest and usually imperfect, the second and fifth the largest, the fourth with black centre speckled with blue and ringed with yellow, and the second and fifth also with an outer black ring; submarginal lunules purpurescent-grey, bordered by a whitish fascia; outer margin ochreous. Body olivescent ochreous-brown, abdomen with ochreous bands; palpi blackish above, white beneath; body beneath and legs greyish-white; antennae black above, tip and beneath reddish.
Distribution
V. cardui is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. In Australia, V. cardui has a limited range around Bunbury, Fremantle, and Rottnest Island. However, its close relative, the Australian painted lady (V. kershawi, sometimes considered a subspecies) ranges over half the continent. Other closely related species are the American painted lady (V. virginiensis) and the West Coast lady (V. annabella).
Migration
V. cardui occurs in any temperate zone, including mountains in the tropics. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates in spring, and sometimes again in autumn. It migrates from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Britain and Europe in May and June, occasionally reaching Iceland,[8] and from the Red Sea basin, via Israel and Cyprus, to Turkey in March and April. The occasional autumn migration made by V. cardui is likely for the inspection of resource changes; it consists of a round trip from Europe to Africa.
For decades, naturalists have debated whether the offspring of these immigrants ever make a southwards return migration. Research suggests that British painted ladies do undertake an autumn migration, making 14,500 km (9,000 mi) round trip from tropical Africa to the Arctic Circle in a series of steps by up to six successive generations. The Radar Entomology Unit at Rothamsted Research provided evidence that autumn migrations take place at high altitude, which explains why these migrations are seldom witnessed. In recent years, thanks to the activity of The Worldwide Painted Lady Migration citizen science project, led by the Barcelona-based Institute of Evolutionary Biology (Catalan: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva), the huge range of migration has begun to be revealed. For example, some butterflies migrated from Iceland to the Sahara desert, and even further south.
V. cardui is known for its distinct migratory behaviour. In California, they are usually seen flying from north to north-west. These migrations appear to be partially initiated by heavy winter rains in the desert where rainfall controls the growth of larval food plants. In March 2019, after heavy rain produced an abundance of vegetation in the deserts, Southern California saw these butterflies migrating by the millions across the state.
Similarly, heavier than usual rain during the 2018-2019 winter seems to have been the cause of the extraordinarily large migration observed in Israel at the end of March, estimated at a billion individual butterflies. Painted lady migration patterns are highly erratic and they do not migrate every year. Some evidence suggests that global climatic events, such as el Niño, may affect the migratory behaviour of the painted lady butterflies, causing large-scale migrations. The first noticeable wave of migration in eastern Ukraine was noted in the 20s of April 2019. From May 15, numbers began to grow and it was possible to observe hundreds of this species in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, including in the city streets of Kharkiv.
Based on experimental data, the painted lady's migration pattern in northern Europe apparently does not follow a strict north-west heading. The range of headings suggests that migrating butterflies may adjust their migration patterns in response to local topographical features and weather, such as strong wind patterns. Laboratory-raised autumn-generation painted lady butterflies were able to distinguish a southern orientation for a return migration path. According to the same laboratory-based study, when butterflies were isolated from the sun, they were unable to orient themselves in a specific direction, opposed to those that did have access to the sun. This suggests that V. cardui requires a direct view of the sky, implying the use of a solar compass to orient its migratory direction and maintain a straight flight path.
Mating behaviour in relation to migration
V. cardui displays a unique system of continuous mating, throughout all seasons, including the winter. This may be attributed to its migratory patterns, thus significantly affecting its mating behaviour. During European migrations, the butterflies immediately begin to mate and lay eggs upon arrival in the Mediterranean in the spring, starting in late May. In the United States, painted lady butterflies migrating towards the north experience poor mating conditions, and many butterflies have limited breeding capabilities. The "local adult generation" develops during this time, roughly from the middle of May through early June in conjunction with the butterfly progression throughout their flight.
During its migratory process, these painted lady butterflies start breeding, and reproduce entirely throughout their migration. Scientists have not been able to find evidence of their overwintering; this may be because they migrate to warmer locations to survive and reproduce. Female painted lady butterflies may suspend their flight temporarily when they are "ready to oviposit"; this allows them the opportunity to continually reproduce throughout their migrations. Because these butterflies are constantly migrating, male butterflies are thought to lack consistent territory. Instead of requiring territory to mate with females and developing evolutionary behaviour to defend this territory, the mating butterflies appear to establish a particular "time and place" in certain locations that they find to be suitable for reproduction. More specifically, they locate certain perches, hilltops, forest-meadow edges, or other landmarks where they will stay until, presumably, a female arrives to mate.
Equally important for the reproduction of the painted lady butterflies is the males' exhibition of polygynous mating behaviour, in which they often mate with more than one female. This is important for painted lady butterflies because the benefits may supersede the costs of polygyny since no permanent breeding ground is used. Upon mating, which typically occurs in the afternoon, female painted lady butterflies lay eggs one by one in their desired breeding locations. The variety of eclosion locations ultimately dictates the male painted lady behaviour.
Female painted lady butterflies have been observed to have a relatively "high biotic potential", meaning they each produce large numbers of offspring. This perpetual influx of reproduction may be a reason why these painted lady butterflies have propagated so successfully. One interesting aspect that scientists have observed is that these butterflies like to fly towards rain. Further studies have suggested that the large amounts of rainfall may somehow "activate more eggs or induce better larval development". Inhabited locations begin to observe a large influx of new generations of painted lady butterflies in the fall, particularly in September and October. Their reproductive success declines relatively throughout the winter, primarily through November. However, they still continue to reproduce—an aspect of butterfly behaviour that is quite unique. Scientists hypothesize that these extensive migratory patterns help the painted lady butterflies find suitable conditions for breeding, thus offering a possible reason as to why these butterflies mate continuously.
Oviposition
Adult butterflies feed on flower nectar and aphid honeydew. Females oviposit on plants with nectar immediately available for the adults even if it leads to high mortality of the larvae. This lack of discrimination indicates they do not take into account volatile chemicals released from potential host plants when searching for oviposition choices.
The availability of adult resources dictates a preference for specific areas of flowers. Flowers with more available nectar result in a larger number of eggs deposited on the plants. This reinforces the idea that the painted lady butterfly does not discriminate host plants and chooses mainly on the availability of adult food sources even if it increases the mortality rate of the offspring. The data also suggest that the painted lady butterfly favors quantity of offspring over quality.
Vision
Painted lady butterflies have a visual system that resembles that of a honey bee. Adult V. cardui eyes contain ultraviolet, blue, and green opsins. Unlike other butterflies, such as the monarch or red postman butterflies, painted ladies lack red receptors, which means that they are not sensitive to red light. Behavioral studies on the related species, Vanessa atalanta, have demonstrated that V. atalanta cannot distinguish yellow light from orange light or orange light from red light.
Roosting behaviour and territory
Groups of two to eight painted lady butterflies have been observed to fly in circles around each other for about one to five seconds before separating, symbolizing courtship. Groups of butterflies usually will not fly more than 4.5 m away from the starting point. To establish and defend their territories, adult males perch in the late afternoon in areas where females are most likely to appear. Once the male spots a female of the same species, he begins pursuit of her. If the foreign butterfly is a male, the original male will give chase, flying vertically for a few feet before returning to his perch.
V. cardui establishes territories within areas sheltered by hedgerows. Vanessa cardui tend to inhabit sunny, brightly lit, open environments and are often attracted to open areas of flowers and clovers. Adults spend time in small depressions in the ground on overcast days.
Host plants
Larvae feed on Asteraceae species, including Cirsium, Carduus, Centaurea, Arctium, Onopordum, Helianthus, and Artemisia.
The painted lady uses over 300 recorded host plants according to the HOSTS database.
Defence mechanisms
The main defence mechanisms of painted lady butterflies include flight and camouflage. The caterpillars hide in small silk nests on top of leaves from their main predators that include wasps, spiders, ants, and birds.
Human interaction
Vanessa cardui and other painted lady species are bred in schools for educational purposes and used for butterfly releases at hospices, memorial events, and weddings.
Glossary of Cattle Stations Terms
in STATIONS, STORIES AND ARTICLES
A list of terms commonly used on Australian cattle stations. Sayings vary from place to place and originate from all over Australia.
His song... Singing about Hamilton Station youtu.be/ZxJsouz1kz8
1080 – A poison for wild dog control.
Big Smoke – city.
Billy – a tin used over a campfire to boil water for tea. See also “Boil the billy”.
Blocking cattle up – Generally refers to mustering on horseback when the cattle are first approached. They are usually held in one spot for a time until they have quietened down enough to move forward.
Blowie – a blow fly – a large fly that lays maggots making meat rotten.
Bodgy (or Dodgy) – poor quality. “It’s a bit bodgy” – it might fall to bits.
Boil the billy – “Let’s have a break for a cup of tea or coffee.” Often used even when the water is boiled with an electric jug. See “Billy” above.
Bore Runner – A person who drives around the station usually 2 or 3 times a week checking the water for the cattle. The water can be in dams or natural waterholes but it is often underground water which needs to be pumped by a windmill, solar or diesel motor. Some underground water flows to the surface without pumping.
Bronco (Bronco Branding Broncoing) – The traditional Australian method of branding calves. The Calves are caught by throwing a lassoo from the back of a strong horse. The calf is then pulled up to a timber panel for branding. This method of branding calves is not often used anymore but it’s become a popular sport.
Bronco Panel – A timber fence like structure for restraining calves while they are being branded using the broncoing method.
Bronco Yards – Yards to contain cattle while Bronco branding.
Bullock – A castrated male cow
Bush – has different meanings depending on where you are. If in town, “going to the bush” might mean heading out of town, or if in the city, going to a small country town. To people in city regions “the bush” could refer to the outback. When in the country, “going up the bush” could mean going to an area where there are lots of trees and wildlife, and “going bush” could mean going out where there are no other people, maybe to do fencing or go fishing. Going bush could mean someone wanting to get away from other people.
Bush telegraph – the exchange of information by word of mouth. “I heard it on the bush telegraph”, just like “I heard it on the grapevine”.
Camp – “I’m going to have a camp,” meaning a rest. Also another name for stock camp or fencer’s camp, etc.
Chopper – Helicopter; usually used for mustering cattle.
Clean skin – an unbranded and unearmarked heifer, cow or bull.
Cockie – Farmer. Also slang for cockatoo and cockroach. See also “Cockie Gate”.
Crossbreed fender saddle – The style of saddle which is used almost exclusively on cattle stations. The crossbreed refers to the combination of the Australian knee pads, seat and cantle and the American style panels and lining.
Cruisie – taking it easy, “A cruisie job” – an easy job or affirmative “Cruisie”- that will be fine, cool.
Cuppa – a cup of tea or coffee. “Let's have a cuppa” – to have a break for a cup of tea. See also “Smoko”.
Dodgy (or Bodgy) – poor quality. “It’s a bit dodgy” – it might fall to bits.
Donkey – Usually a drum of water with a fire underneath stoked up when hot water is needed for showers.
Draft / Drafting – Usually refers to separating cattle into different categories for branding, trucking or treating. Can be done on horseback or in a yard.
Drafting – Can also refer to the sport of campdrafting.
Fats – fat cattle ready to be sold for slaughter, can be either bullocks or cows.
Float – a word often used when outback people are ready to go somewhere, “Let’s float”, or have gone, “He’s floated”. They could be going out to the stock camp, going to a rodeo or changing jobs.
Fresh horse – a horse that hasn’t been used for a while.
Gates – some of the different names for gates common in the country, usually made from wire and wooden posts or stakes and having a wide range of styles of latches.
Bogan Gate
Bowyan Gate
Cockie Gate (see also “Cockie”)
Wire Gate
5 minute gate (5 minutes to make and 5 minutes to open)
COD Gate (Carry or Drag)
Gibber Plains – Open plain country with not much grass cover and small rocks lying on top of the ground.
Greenhide – Untreated cowhide which was used traditionally for making ropes, halters, bridles, pack bags as well as many other station uses.
Green horse – a horse, broken in but with not much training or experience.
Green Ringer – inexperienced station hand
Hang up – ride a bucking horse without getting thrown off, “he can hang up”.
Have a blow – have a rest.
Hobble – To join the front legs of a horse with two straps and a swivel chain (usually at night) to stop them going too far from camp.
Holding the cut / cutting – When cattle are drafted on horseback it is often refered to as cutting and the cattle that have been separated from the mob are called the cut.
Horse plant (or just ‘plant’) – The group of workhorses kept ready for work at any time; either “hobbled” (see previous entry) out at night or kept in a small paddock. The group of horses in use by the stock camp at any one time. See also “horse tailer” below.
Horse tailer – the person who looks after the plant horses (see previous entry) while mustering or droving. See also “Tailing”.
Humbug – an annoying person.
Humbugging – teasing, pestering.
Hung up – to come off a horse and have your foot caught in the stirrup iron (oxbow) and get dragged along. (Not to be confused with Hang up)
Inside – closely settled region – an old time saying to distinguish areas which are closely settled from the sparsely settled frontier country, or outside (a word which changed over time to outback).
Jackeroos and Jillaroos – Usually young station workers who in times past often lived and ate separately from station hands, but all worked together. Even though we still see ads for jackeroos and jilleroos, young people much prefer to be called “ringers”.
Killer – one of the stock to be slaughtered for eating on the property.
Knock it off – stop that nonsense or to steal something.
Knock off – finish work for the day – “I’m going to knock off now”.
Knock off time – “When is knock-off time?” – when will we finish work for today?
Micky bull – a young bull, usually up to about 18 months of age, which should have been branded and castrated but has been missed in previous musters.
Mob – group of cattle, horses or sheep running or mustered together. Can also be a description of a family or station grouping, eg “the Humbert River mob”. Can be used to describe a large number of just about anything, eg “the biggest mob of beer”.
Mothering up – Calves are often separated from their mothers during mustering and processing through the yards. Before the cattle are let go they are held together to allow the cow and calf to find each other.
Muster – round up sheep or cattle. Noun – “this year’s muster”, or verb – “we’ll muster them in”.
No drama or No worries – forget about it (in forgiveness) or Yes, I’ll do it (it will be no problem). See also “Too easy”.
Offsider – assistant. Usually younger or less experienced.
Outback – originated in a time when closely settled regions were referred to as inside and the sparsely settled frontier country was referred to as outside. The word outside changed over time to outback. “The Outback” has now become a tourism catchphrase to describe the sparsely populated central, western and northern regions of Australia. It is not a specific place, more a description, a bit like calling Australia “Down Under”.
Paddock – fenced area.
Piss holes – A small water hole.
Plant – see “Horse plant”.
Reckon – “Do ya reckon?” = Do you think so? or “I reckon!” = I agree wholeheartedly, or “I reckon it will rain tonight” = I think it’s going to rain tonight.
Ringer – a male or female stock worker on an Australian cattle station, so named from rounding up “mobs” of cattle. See our Working as a Ringer article.
Ringing – A term for someone who is a ringer eg I’ve spent the last 10 years ringing in the Northern Territory.
Rollie – a self rolled cigarette.
Roo – Slang for “jackeroo” or “jilleroo”. A term often used for a person who is inexperienced or meaning that the person is not very skilled. Also short for kangaroo.
Round / A round – “Mustering” all the cattle on the station; mostly done twice in each season in a first and second round.
Saddle Bronc – The sport at a rodeo in which a rider attempts to ride a horse that in inclined to buck.
Scuffling crops – Small crops were traditionally cultivated using a draft horse pulling a tyne like implement.
Smoko – a break for a smoke or a cup of tea or coffee. See also “Cuppa”.
Stock Camp – See our Cattle Stations page for an explanation of the term “Stock Camp”.
Surcingle – A leather strap used to secure a riding or pack saddle onto a horse. The surcingle goes around the saddle and horse.
Tailing – to contain a “mob” of cattle or horses while they graze. For example:
tailing cows and calves – to mother up;
tailing the mob – they may have been in the yards and need a feed.
tailing the “plant horses” while mustering or droving.
tailing weaners (see “weaners”) – to quieten, feed and educate them while they are adjusting to being taken from their mothers.
Too easy – similar to “No drama” or “No worries” = I’ll do it, it will cause no problems.
Town smokes (sometimes called “townies”) – tailor made cigarettes. Called town smokes because station workers often only smoke them when in town as a bit of a luxury. When out on the station they would mostly smoke “rollies”.
Tucker – food. See also “tucker box”.
Tuckerbox – food box. See also “tucker”.
Turkey nest – A circular earth tank built above ground that has water pumped into it from a bore or water hole or dam. The water in the turkey's nest gravity feeds to troughs for cattle or sheep to drink.
Vesty – An English company owned by Lord Vesty that owned many cattle stations in the north of Australia during the 20th century.
Weaners – young steers or heifers, usually six to eight months old, recently weaned from their mothers.
Yard – a structure used to hold and process cattle. See also “yarded” below.
Yarded – “the cattle have been yarded” – put in the yard (see previous entry).
Thanks to this site... kentsaddlery.com.au/2011/02/glossary-of-cattle-stations-t...
IMG_6615
Near maximum length (c.35mm) for the species.
1: posterior profile slightly convex.
2: anterior profile straight.
3: excavated vertex patch.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION part A BELOW
SPECIES DESCRIPTION part B 2Pd flic.kr/p/AfbFkR
Key id. features 3Pd flic.kr/p/Ay7bhf
PDF version at www.researchgate.net/profile/Ian_Smith19/research
OTHER SPECIES ALBUMS www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Patella_depressa Pennant, 1777
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=151374
Synonyms: Patella intermedia Murray in Knapp,1857; Patella vulgata var. intermedia Jeffreys, 1865; Patella athletica [as dark variant of] Forbes & Hanley,1849;
Jeffreys (1865) mistakenly took the rudimentary description of P. depressa by Pennant (1777) to be what is currently (2015) called P. ulyssiponensis Gmelin, 1791 (syn. P. athletica). Until 1923, most authors followed Jeffreys in applying the name P. depressa Pennant to the wrong species, and in using the name P. intermedia Jeffreys for what is now recognised as P. depressa Pennant. Examination of Pennant's type specimen by Tomlin (1923) exposed the error and authors started to use the name P. athletica Bean, 1844, for what is now called P. ulyssiponensis but, probably to avoid confusion, many retained use of P. intermedia Jeffreys for the true P. depressa Pennant, despite Pennant's priority, until the 1970s (e.g.Yonge & Thompson, 1976).
Vernacular names: Black footed limpet (English); Brenigen dorddu (Welsh); Platte schaalhoren (Dutch); Patelle bernique (French);
Meaning of name:
Patella (Latin) = little pan. depressa (Latin) = depressed /low.
Terms in text used with restricted or specialised meaning are marked with hashtag#; refer to GLOSSARY below.
Shell Description
Patellid limpets have great geographical variation within and between species. This account refers to typical British specimens.
Usual maximum length c.35mm and height# 12mm 1Pd flic.kr/p/BaSA3C . Strong. Conoid; apex is positioned to anterior of centre. The base is ovoid , widest and sometimes angulated at posterior. Profile usually low (H/L 25-37% in sample of twelve typical shells from S.W.England and N.W. Wales) 2Pd flic.kr/p/AfbFkR . In profile, anterior and posterior usually slightly convex or almost straight. Sculpture of narrow, radiating, whitish ribs that tend to be arranged in triplets; one major flanked by a minor each side 10Pd flic.kr/p/BaScwq . Ribs project as points from aperture-rim of unworn shells 3Pd flic.kr/p/Ay7bhf , but often majority have ribs rounded, and rib-points reduced, by erosion, and outer shell-layer eroded away from apical half of the shell 4Pd flic.kr/p/Bc5Hk6 to almost whole shell 5Pd flic.kr/p/Ay7kFz . Dark radiating rays in grooves of exterior shell-layer visible externally only on uneroded parts 4Pd flic.kr/p/Bc5Hk6 , but usually clearly visible on interior through transparent, iridescent skirt-shell-layer# for much 6Pd flic.kr/p/Ay7i76 or most 7Pd flic.kr/p/AfbuN8 of the way to opaque, whitish, pallial-groove-band#. On interior, whitish projecting points of ribs have short, unglazed, chalky-white central line, but reduced or lacking where projecting point of rib eroded 8Pd flic.kr/p/Ay6YL9 . Pedal-retractor muscle leaves translucent horseshoe-shape scar 7Pd flic.kr/p/AfbuN8 , often containing an opaque white line 9Pd flic.kr/p/Ay7bJg . Mouth of horseshoe-scar is closed by thin anterior mantle-attachment scar 9Pd flic.kr/p/Ay7bJg ; the two scars enclose area shaped like fat amphora# filled with blackish 10Pd flic.kr/p/BaScwq , grey 11Pd flic.kr/p/Bd4YEr , orange-cream 12Pd flic.kr/p/Af3iJS , opaque-white and/or yellowish-cream 7Pd flic.kr/p/AfbuN8 shell-layer. Some have excavated, colourless, translucent patch near vertex#, 13Pd flic.kr/p/AApFbT , perhaps caused by re-absorption of shell-material. Juvenile spat lack ridges on main antero-posterior axis and have broad, prominent, mid-lateral pigment lines from apex to lip that are swept forwards on left and backwards on right.
Body description
Translucent white head, darkened to purple-pink by internal odontophore 14Pd flic.kr/p/Bc5hcv ; has substantial snout , slit at posterior, with large mouth (transverse when shut) fringed by thick outer lips 15Pd flic.kr/p/Ay6H2J . Distal end of snout and lips tinted pale yellow 14Pd flic.kr/p/Bc5hcv . When outer lips opened, dull-yellow inner lips exposed. Inner lips open laterally to expose radula with crimson ribbon and golden teeth, and white, cuticularized, triangular licker 15Pd flic.kr/p/Ay6H2J . Sturdy pale grey cephalic tentacles have small black eye in slight swelling at base 2Pd flic.kr/p/AfbFkR . Eye is primitive (or degenerate) cavity, open to seawater and lined with black retina cells. Mantle-skirt translucent buff 16Pd flic.kr/p/Afb9yv ; colour most saturated and translucency least when skirt retracted from shell-periphery 17Pd flic.kr/p/BaRWfU . Mantle cavity consists of nuchal cavity over head, and pallial groove filled with pallial gills around entire periphery of foot-head 16Pd flic.kr/p/Afb9yv ; no ctenidium. Each gill is tongue-shaped leaflet attached by stalk to distal wall of pallial-groove, and has densely ciliated groove on stalk and thickened rim 18Pd flic.kr/p/Bc59v8 . Efferent pallial vessel in mantle-skirt, close to pallial-groove, enters nuchal cavity on left 16Pd flic.kr/p/Afb9yv . Mantle-edge has many opaquely-pigmented chalky-white pallial tentacles, becoming translucent and less intensely coloured only in a small distal portion; tentacles distinct from translucent, buff mantle-skirt that they arise from 19Pd flic.kr/p/Af37zY . Around perimeter, pallial tentacles alternate single long with several short. Length of pallial tentacles, and their position relative to shell, vary with degree of extension of mantle skirt 20Pd flic.kr/p/Ay6PEH , 21Pd flic.kr/p/Azyo2Q and 17Pd flic.kr/p/BaRWfU . Pedal-retractor muscle arranged in horseshoe pattern of white muscle bundles demarcated by gaps 20Pd flic.kr/p/Ay6PEH ; muscle attaches body/foot to shell (a.k.a. shell muscle) 17Pd flic.kr/p/BaRWfU . Sole of foot approximately circular 20Pd flic.kr/p/Ay6PEH to oval with slightly tapered posterior 21Pd flic.kr/p/Azyo2Q , pitch-brown to black with pale peripheral rim, colour most saturated when foot contracted 17Pd flic.kr/p/BaRWfU . White sides of foot lack features such as epipodial tentacles 2Pd flic.kr/p/AfbFkR . When crawling, usually only extended pallial tentacles and, perhaps, tips of cephalic tentacles protrude beyond shelter of shell 22Pd flic.kr/p/BexkLe . No penis as fertilization external.
Further detail visible with simple dissection
Shell removal by severing pedal-retractor muscle shows muscle-bundles clearly 23Pd flic.kr/p/AzykaY ; anterior bundle on each side is largest and strongest as must firmly pull down shell further to anterior where bundles are absent. Removal of viscera reveals that muscle bundles continue far into foot 24Pd flic.kr/p/BdwNkP towards median groove of large blood-sinus 25Pd flic.kr/p/ABS7Sp . Shell removal exposes entire mantle 23Pd flic.kr/p/AzykaY subdivided into a) pale translucent mantle-skirt, b) narrow black band over pallial-groove containing gills, c) large black amphora-shaped area, often with pale vertex patch, over viscera and d) separated from amphora by pale anterior-mantle attachment, smaller black area over the nuchal cavity containing the head and anterior pallial gills 26Pd flic.kr/p/BciErS . Pale patch within black amphora may be related to excavated patch near shell-vertex, see 11Pd flic.kr/p/Bd4YEr , a feature frequently found on P. depressa. If mantle skirt is folded back, 26Pd flic.kr/p/BciErS , collapsed pallial gills exposed. Careful removal of black amphora area of mantle reveals translucent membrane over viscera 27Pd flic.kr/p/AzysF8 ; when removed, clear view, 28Pd flic.kr/p/BbdZum , of digestive gland, intestine and rectum. Efferent pallial vessel in mantle-skirt, 26Pd flic.kr/p/BciErS carries blood from mantle to right of nuchal cavity 29Pd flic.kr/p/AguVDE and through it to elongated heart behind left of cavity 30Pd flic.kr/p/Bex7R6 . When roof of nuchal cavity folded back, translucent white head showing purple-red of internal odontophore visible 26Pd flic.kr/p/BciErS . Removal of head's epithelium reveals odontophore and anterior of radula with hyaline shield 28Pd flic.kr/p/BbdZum . Removal of viscera reveals entire long radula, folded and coiled to fit in body 24Pd flic.kr/p/BdwNkP . P. depressa probably has longest radula relative to shell-length, up to 270%, of any British mollusc 31Pd flic.kr/p/BbdUdE (Fretter & Graham, 1962, p.172). Fully mineralized, golden radular teeth, ready for action, clearly visible at anterior where radula rests on transparent hyaline shield on top of odontophore 32Pd flic.kr/p/Bcivym . Inner lips enclosed at sides and anterior by white chitinous unarticulated jaw# 24Pd flic.kr/p/BdwNkP . White, cuticularized, triangular licker at tip of radula is divided into plate-like ridges by deep transverse grooves 32Pd flic.kr/p/Bcivym . Teeth obscured by white translucent radular sac to posterior of hyaline shield. When radular sac removed by treatment with 10% solution NaOH, posterior of radula clearly seen to have white ribbon with slightly pigmented teeth as mineralization at early stage 33Pd flic.kr/p/ABRUWR while further forward ribbon is rich crimson, and teeth strongly pigmented golden with strong hard minerals of iron and silica. Each row of teeth arranged in docoglossan formula, 3+D+2+R+2+D+3: at centre, two pairs of large, unicuspid, pigmented lateral teeth (with small, unpigmented rachidian/median tooth hidden from easy view at their base), and near each margin of ribbon a single, tricuspid, pigmented, dominant-marginal tooth with, close-by, three inconspicuous, unicuspid, marginal teeth 33Pd flic.kr/p/ABRUWR . Middle cusp of dominant-marginal on P. depressa and P. vulgata is largest; on P. ulyssiponensis outer cusp largest. Before and during spring-autumn breeding season, large gonads (20% of female's mass) occur in mature adults between viscera and foot and, when fully developed, spread up around periphery of visceral mass 30Pd flic.kr/p/Bex7R6 . Male testes are pinkish/orange/yellow with numerous interconnected tubules seen side-on 34Pd flic.kr/p/ABRUor or end-on 35Pd flic.kr/p/BbdNHb . Female gonads not observed by IFS (four adults dissected in late September; two with testes, two without gonads- spent females?) but as reproductive systems similar in the genus, probably greenish and granular as in P. vulgata .
SPECIES DESCRIPTION part B at 2Pd flic.kr/p/AfbFkR
GLOSSARY
amphora – (on interior of limpet shell) Roman amphora-shaped area enclosed by scars of pedal-retractor muscle and anterior mantle-attachment.
aperture – mouth of gastropod shell; outlet for head and foot.
apex - earliest formed part of a gastropod shell, the summit of the cone. (In this limpet-account restricted to the exterior of the shell, and “vertex” used for the interior.)
cephalic – (adj.) of or on the head.
cilia – (pl.) microscopic linear extensions of membrane that move in rhythmic waves to create locomotion, or move particles and liquids e.g. inhalent water currents. (“cilium” singular). (Electron scanning microscope image at flic.kr/p/qQB5zj )
ciliary – (adj.) relating to or involving cilia.
coll. – in the collection of (named person or institution) (compare with legit).
conoid – shaped like a cone.
ctenidium – comb-like molluscan gill; usually an axis with a row of filaments either side (missing from Patella spp.).
distal - away from centre of body or point of attachment.
ditaxic - (of locomotion waves on foot) double series of waves, out of phase with each other, one series on each side of median line on sole.
ELWS – extreme low water spring tide level (usually near March and September equinoxes).
EHWS - extreme high water spring tide level (usually near March and September equinoxes).
epipodial - (adj.) of the epipodium (collar or circlet running round sides of foot of some gastropods).
epithelium – membranous covering of internal and external surfaces of animal's body, e.g. skin and lining of tubes and cavities.
head scar – term used by many British authors for patch of different shell-material, and often different colour, near vertex of interior of limpet shell; misnomer as the mobile head, free of any attachment to the shell or mantle-roof of the nuchal cavity cannot make a scar. A preferable term is “vertex patch”.
height – (of limpet) perpendicular distance from apex to plane of aperture-rim (best measured with callipers).
hyaline shield – transparent sheet of chitin at anterior of radula that rests on bolsters of odontophore; attachment point for retractor muscles of radula; helps guide food particles into mouth.
interspecific – existing or arising between different species.
intraspecific – occuring within a single species or involving members of one species.
jaw - unarticulated chitinous structure that encloses inner lips of Patella spp. at sides and anterior.
legit – (abbreviation; leg.) collected/ found by (compare with coll.)
licker - cuticularized structure with plate-like ridges and deep transverse grooves at tip of radula of Patella spp.; retains and sweeps up food particles.
mantle – sheet of tissue covering visceral mass of molluscs. Secretes shell of shelled species, and forms part or all of dorsal body surface (notum) of those without shells. (See mantle skirt.)
mantle skirt – extension on gastropods of mantle proper as a flap roofing a cavity containing gills, genital and renal openings, anus etc. On limpets, skirt and cavity extend around periphery of animal.
MHWN - mean high water neap tide level (mean level reached by weakest high tides for a few days every fortnight. i.e. those that rise the least).
MLWN – mean low water neap tide level (mean level reached by weakest low tides for a few days every fortnight. i.e. those that fall the least).
MLWS - mean low water spring tide level (mean level reached by lowest low tides for a few days every fortnight; Laminaria or Coralline zone on rocky coasts).
nuchal – (adj.) of nape of the neck.
nuchal cavity – cavity roofed by mantle skirt that contains head of limpet; part of mantle cavity (remainder consists of pallial groove on each side of body).
ovoid – egg-shaped, as a solid or in outline.
pallial groove band – shell material deposited on interior of shell by strip of black mantle roofing the pallial groove that contains the gills. On British Patella spp. it is often clouded-white.
pedal retractor muscle – strong muscle that retracts foot into shell of most gastropods, but on limpets is used to clamp shell to substrate, a.k.a. “foot muscle”.
retrograde - (of locomotion waves on foot) waves travel from anterior to posterior.
scar – mark on shell made by attachment point of muscle or other body part.
skirt shell layer - shell material deposited on interior of shell by mantle skirt. On British Patella spp. colourless when deposited, and clouded white, or transparent showing the colours of the outer layer. Crystalline structure causes short lines of blue iridescence parallel to the aperture rim on all four British species of Patella when the light is right.
trochophore – spherical or pear-shaped larva that swims with aid of girdle of cilia. Stage preceding veliger, passed within gastropod egg in most spp. but free in plankton for patellid limpets, most Trochidae and Tricolia pullus.
tricuspid - (of tooth) having three points.
unicuspid - (of tooth) having a single point.
veliger – shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which moves by beating cilia of a velum (bilobed flap).
vertex – angle at highest point on interior of limpet-shell. [Synonym of “apex”, chosen (by IFS) to help avoid confusion with the highest point, apex, on the exterior. Gmelin used “vertex” when describing the interior of Patella ulyssiponensis, and in classical Latin “vertex” was used for the “pole of the heavens”; obviously only seen from below.]
vertex patch –layer of different shell-material, and often different colour, at vertex of interior of limpet shell. (See “head scar”.)
A new bathtub shot.
Another good day to stay home. The snow ended for now and the sun came out, but I have a foot of new snow in my yard. According to the radio program I am listening to as I write this, the police have responded to 215 car accidents over the past 24 hours. All but 15 were "fender benders". We got hit by an Alberta Clipper .
I confined my birding activities to shooting from my bath tub again today.
This Downy Woodpecker is a new bathtub bird shot. I have shot them in my yard before, but never from my bathtub. This brings my bathtub species captures to 29. I actually got this shot an hour after I posted my set yesterday, so I saved it for today.
This guy is on a Bur Oak Tree that I planted in my yard about twenty years ago. I think this is the only Oak species that can can grow here and probably reluctantly. After twenty years, it has grown about twenty feet. I love having it in my yard as do the acorn loving Blue Jays.
Edmonton, Alberta. March 15, 2013.
Member of the Flickr Bird Brigade
Activists for birds and wildlife
© Saúl Tuñón Loureda
www.instagram.com/saul_t_loureda/
Stonehenge es un monumento megalítico tipo crómlech, de finales del neolítico (siglo XX a. C.), situado cerca de Amesbury, en el condado de Wiltshire, Inglaterra, a unos quince kilómetros al norte de Salisbury.
El conjunto megalítico de Stonehenge, Avebury y sitios relacionados fue proclamado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en 1986.
Stonehenge está formado por grandes bloques de rocas metamórficas distribuidos en cuatro circunferencias concéntricas. El exterior, de treinta metros de diámetro, está formado por grandes piedras rectangulares de arenisca que, originalmente, estaban coronadas por dinteles, también de piedra, quedando hoy en día solo siete en su mismo sitio. Dentro de esta hilera exterior se encuentra otro círculo de bloques más pequeños de arenisca azulada. Este encierra una estructura con forma de herradura construida con piedras de arenisca del mismo color. En su interior permanece una losa de arenisca micácea conocida como «el Altar».
Todo el conjunto está rodeado por un foso circular que mide 104 m de diámetro. Dentro de este espacio se alza un bancal en el que aparecen 56 fosas conocidas como los «agujeros de Aubrey». El bancal y el foso están cortados por «la Avenida», un camino procesional de 23 metros de ancho y 3 kilómetros de longitud, aproximadamente. Cerca se halla la «Piedra del Sacrificio». Enfrente se encuentra la «Piedra Talón». Está compuesto de un gran círculo de grandes megalitos cuya construcción se fecha hacia el 2500 a. C.2 El círculo de arena que rodea los megalitos está considerado la parte más antigua del monumento, habiendo sido datada sobre el 3100 a. C.
En su comienzo era un monumento circular de carácter ritual rodeado por un talud y un foso, de modo similar a muchos otros situados en el sur de Inglaterra.
Finalmente el monumento tomó su aspecto actual, para lo cual transportaron 32 bloques de arenisca desde las montañas de Preseli, al suroeste de Gales y la piedra del «Altar» fue traída desde una región cercana a Milford Haven. Se especula actualmente con la posibilidad de que se hubieran movido utilizando bolas de madera o piedra o cojinetes a modo de rodamientos, y no con troncos como se pensó originalmente.
Stonehenge era parte de un complejo grande, que incluía círculos de piedra y avenidas ceremoniales.3 Las excavaciones realizadas por el proyecto Stonehenge Riverside, dirigido por el arqueólogo Mike Parker Pearson de la Universidad de Sheffield, permitieron encontrar muy cerca de Stonehenge, un asentamiento de cerca de mil casas.2 De acuerdo con las evidencias encontradas, estas casas solamente se usaban unos días al año y no se trataba de una aldea habitada permanentemente.
A poco más de tres kilómetros de Stonehenge, en Durrington Walls, fue encontrado un amplio trabajo circular en el terreno, veinte veces más extenso que Stonehenge, rodeado por una zanja y un banco.2 Allí estuvo levantada una construcción de madera, ahora denominada Woodhenge, con un diseño similar al de Stonehenge y construida en el mismo siglo. Woodhenge estaba unido al río Avon por una avenida ceremonial construida con piedras.
La finalidad que tuvo la construcción de este gran monumento se ignora, pero se supone que se utilizaba como templo religioso, monumento funerario u observatorio astronómico que servía para predecir las estaciones.
En el solsticio de verano, el Sol salía justo atravesando el eje de la construcción, lo que hace suponer que los constructores tenían conocimientos de astronomía. El mismo día, el Sol se ocultaba atravesando el eje del Woodhenge, donde se han encontrado multitud de huesos de animales y objetos que evidencian que se celebraban grandes fiestas, probablemente al anochecer.4
Han sido encontrados 300 enterramientos de restos humanos previamente cremados, datados entre el año 3030 y 2340 a. C.5 Dado el poco número de entierros para un período tan largo, se estima que no se trata de un cementerio para la generalidad de los muertos sino para determinadas personas escogidas. La piedra era el símbolo de lo eterno; servía para marcar o delimitar puntos energéticos terrenales (telúricos) y hasta para albergar espíritus elementales. Así es que Stonehenge podría haber sido utilizada junto con Woodhenge en ceremonias religiosas de culto a los muertos y a la vida, tal vez simbolizada por el círculo de madera.4
Stonehenge y el número de oro
Stonehenge en el alba del día de San Juan
Así como en otros edificios prehistóricos, la construcción sigue la llamada proporción aurea cuya relación se establece en el ancho de la Herradura de megalitos de tres piedras grises azuladas y el diámetro del Círculo Pagano o Druida. El rectángulo formado por las Piedras de las Estaciones se aproxima al rectángulo √5, formado por dos rectángulos áureos recíprocos. Así mismo parecen cercanas a la relación aurea las líneas trazadas con base a los pilares y sus respectivas diagonales de los arcos paganos.
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, 2 miles (3 km) west of Amesbury and 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. Stonehenge consists of ring of standing stones, with each standing stone around 4.1 metres (13 ft) high, 2.1 metres (6 ft 11 in) wide and weighing around 25 tons. The stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.[1]
Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC,[2] although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC.[3][4][5]
One of the most famous landmarks in the UK, Stonehenge is regarded as a British cultural icon.[6] It has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882 when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain. The site and its surroundings were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage; the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.[7][8]
Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings.[9] Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, and continued for at least another five hundred years.
The Oxford English Dictionary cites Ælfric's tenth-century glossary, in which henge-cliff is given the meaning "precipice", or stone, thus the stanenges or Stanheng "not far from Salisbury" recorded by eleventh-century writers are "supported stones". William Stukeley in 1740 notes, "Pendulous rocks are now called henges in Yorkshire...I doubt not, Stonehenge in Saxon signifies the hanging stones."[11] Christopher Chippindale's Stonehenge Complete gives the derivation of the name Stonehenge as coming from the Old English words stān meaning "stone", and either hencg meaning "hinge" (because the stone lintels hinge on the upright stones) or hen(c)en meaning "hang" or "gallows" or "instrument of torture" (though elsewhere in his book, Chippindale cites the "suspended stones" etymology). Like Stonehenge's trilithons, medieval gallows consisted of two uprights with a lintel joining them, rather than the inverted L-shape more familiar today.
The "henge" portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges.[11] Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch.[12] As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from antiquarian use, and Stonehenge is not truly a henge site as its bank is inside its ditch. Despite being contemporary with true Neolithic henges and stone circles, Stonehenge is in many ways atypical—for example, at more than 7.3 metres (24 ft) tall, its extant trilithons supporting lintels held in place with mortise and tenon joints, make it unique.
Stonehenge was produced by a culture that left no written records. Many aspects of Stonehenge, such as how it was built and which purposes it was used for, remain subject to debate. A number of myths surround the stones.[29] The site, specifically the great trilithon, the encompassing horseshoe arrangement of the five central trilithons, the heel stone, and the embanked avenue, are aligned to the sunset of the winter solstice and the opposing sunrise of the summer solstice.[30][31] A natural landform at the monument's location followed this line, and may have inspired its construction.[32] The excavated remains of culled animal bones suggest that people may have gathered at the site for the winter rather than the summer.[33] Further astronomical associations, and the precise astronomical significance of the site for its people, are a matter of speculation and debate.
There is little or no direct evidence revealing the construction techniques used by the Stonehenge builders. Over the years, various authors have suggested that supernatural or anachronistic methods were used, usually asserting that the stones were impossible to move otherwise due to their massive size. However, conventional techniques, using Neolithic technology as basic as shear legs, have been demonstrably effective at moving and placing stones of a similar size.[citation needed] How the stones could be transported by a prehistoric people without the aid of the wheel or a pulley system is not known. The most common theory of how prehistoric people moved megaliths has them creating a track of logs on which the large stones were rolled along.[34] Another megalith transport theory involves the use of a type of sleigh running on a track greased with animal fat.[34] Such an experiment with a sleigh carrying a 40-ton slab of stone was successful near Stonehenge in 1995. A dedicated team of more than 100 workers managed to push and pull the slab along the 18-mile (29 km) journey from Marlborough Downs.[34] Proposed functions for the site include usage as an astronomical observatory or as a religious site.
More recently two major new theories have been proposed. Professor Geoffrey Wainwright, president of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and Timothy Darvill, of Bournemouth University, have suggested that Stonehenge was a place of healing—the primeval equivalent of Lourdes.[35] They argue that this accounts for the high number of burials in the area and for the evidence of trauma deformity in some of the graves. However, they do concede that the site was probably multifunctional and used for ancestor worship as well.[36] Isotope analysis indicates that some of the buried individuals were from other regions. A teenage boy buried approximately 1550 BC was raised near the Mediterranean Sea; a metal worker from 2300 BC dubbed the "Amesbury Archer" grew up near the alpine foothills of Germany; and the "Boscombe Bowmen" probably arrived from Wales or Brittany, France.[37]
On the other hand, Mike Parker Pearson of Sheffield University has suggested that Stonehenge was part of a ritual landscape and was joined to Durrington Walls by their corresponding avenues and the River Avon. He suggests that the area around Durrington Walls Henge was a place of the living, whilst Stonehenge was a domain of the dead. A journey along the Avon to reach Stonehenge was part of a ritual passage from life to death, to celebrate past ancestors and the recently deceased.[27] Both explanations were first mooted in the twelfth century by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who extolled the curative properties of the stones and was also the first to advance the idea that Stonehenge was constructed as a funerary monument. Whatever religious, mystical or spiritual elements were central to Stonehenge, its design includes a celestial observatory function, which might have allowed prediction of eclipse, solstice, equinox and other celestial events important to a contemporary religion.[38]
There are other hypotheses and theories. According to a team of British researchers led by Mike Parker Pearson of the University of Sheffield, Stonehenge may have been built as a symbol of "peace and unity", indicated in part by the fact that at the time of its construction, Britain's Neolithic people were experiencing a period of cultural unification.[29][39]
Another idea has to do with a quality of the stones themselves. Researchers from the Royal College of Art in London have discovered that some of the monument’s stones possess "unusual acoustic properties"—when they are struck they respond with a "loud clanging noise". According to Paul Devereux, editor of the journal Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture, this idea could explain why certain bluestones were hauled nearly 200 miles (320 km)—a major technical accomplishment at the time. In certain ancient cultures rocks that ring out, known as lithophones, were believed to contain mystic or healing powers, and Stonehenge has a history of association with rituals. The presence of these "ringing rocks" seems to support the hypothesis that Stonehenge was a "place for healing", as has been pointed out by Bournemouth University archaeologist Timothy Darvill, who consulted with the researchers. Some of the stones of Stonehenge were brought from near a town in Wales called Maenclochog, a name which means "ringing rock".
Ventral & dorsal views of intermediate valve v from 8.6 mm long specimen.
1: Tegmentum; dorsal layer of aragonite permeated and weakened by canals
2: Articulamentum: ventral layer of aragonite; has triangular apophyses (3) projecting beyond tegmentum to underlie next valve.
Valve has gently curving, almost parallel, anterior (4) and posterior (5) edges, with somewhat obliquely truncated anterior corners (6), and lacks any sign of a beak (7).
Llŷn, North Wales. March 2016.
Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW
KEY ID FEATURES and similar species at: flic.kr/p/NZJYuu
Sets of OTHER SPECIES at: www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Revised, 2020, PDF version at www.researchgate.net/profile/Ian_Smith19/research
Leptochiton cancellatus (Sowerby, 1840)
Synonyms: Chiton cancellatus G.B.Sowerby ii, 1840; Lepidopleurus cancellatus (Sowerby, 1840);
Vernacular: Arctic cancellate chiton.
GLOSSARY BELOW This account uses the standardised terminology for chitons proposed by Schwabe (2010). Some of Jones & Baxter (1987) alternatives are indicated in the glossary as a.k.a..
Preface
This small species may be overlooked as a juvenile pale Lepidochitona cinerea. The single specimen used to illustrate this account was discovered during close examination of several L. cinerea. It shows some deviation from the features of Leptochiton cancellatus described in Kaas (1981) and Kaas & Belle (1985). On balance, and until molecular studies of the Leptochiton species can be compared, its features, location and habitat appear to support an identification as L. cancellatus. The text is intended to conform with Kaas & Belle's description and figures, and deviations are mentioned in the image captions. Other specimens of L. cancellatus are on Nature22 website of marine life from Brittany, whence Kaas and Belle took specimens for their figures. nature22.com/estran22/estran.html
Shell Description
Up to 9mm long and 4mm wide; smallest chiton species in British waters apart from L. scabridus. In dorsal view, outline elliptical; width about 50% of length when extended 1Lca flic.kr/p/NiCR5L . Girdle narrow, so intermediate shell valves (ii to vii) occupy 80 to 90% of chiton's width. Eight overlapping, thin, fragile, white or cream valves 2Lca flic.kr/p/NZJYuu principally made of 1) tegmentum: dorsal layer of aragonite 3Lca flic.kr/p/NiCQw1 permeated and weakened by canals, and 2) articulamentum: ventral layer of aragonite also 3) properiostracum: outermost proteinaceous layer and 4) myostracum: microscopically thin discontinuous innermost layer. Dorsal surface of valves often stained in patches or streaks with black manganese and/or rust coloured ferrous deposits 1Lca flic.kr/p/NiCR5L . Head valve (i) less than semicircle, posterior margin widely V shaped; approximately crescentic on live animal 1Lca flic.kr/p/NiCR5L . Intermediate valves (ii to vii) have gently curving, almost parallel, anterior and posterior edges, with somewhat obliquely truncated anterior corners, and they lack any sign of a beak 3Lca flic.kr/p/NiCQw1 & 4Lca flic.kr/p/NZJXR5 . Smooth curved profile with no sign of a keel when intermediate valve viewed from posterior 5Lca flic.kr/p/NiCQm1 . Tail valve (viii) quite large, roughly triangular 6Lca flic.kr/p/NZJXy1 , and slightly concave to posterior 7Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3nHG of slightly swollen mucro which is positioned to posterior of centre when extracted valve viewed from above 6Lca flic.kr/p/NZJXy1 .
Canals permeate tegmentum and terminate on its dorsal surface in small oval granules with a cap (megalaesthete) at anterior, and a few smaller subsidiary caps (micraesthetes) in posterior part of granule (Jones & Baxter, 1987).
Intermediate valves ii to vii each have two widely separated, small, triangular apophyses 3Lca flic.kr/p/NiCQw1 on anterior edge that extend under next valve forwards 8Lca flic.kr/p/NiCQcy . Tail valve viii has rounded trapezoidal apophyses. L. cancellatus, like others in family Leptochitonidae, lacks insertion plates that most chitons have at ends of intermediate valves, at anterior of head valve and posterior of tail valve.
Dorsal surface cancellated by closely packed, almost touching, oval granules in chainlike lines running a) longitudinally in front of mucro on tail valve and in the jugal and pleural areas of valves ii to vii, and b) radially on head valve, behind mucro on tail valve and on lateral areas of valves ii to vii 1Lca flic.kr/p/NiCR5L & 9Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3nCw . Lines of granules may be eroded on large old specimens. Lateral and pleural areas slightly differentiated by slight elevation of lateral area and difference in orientation of granules. Usually a few strong growth lines clearly visible on all valves 4Lca flic.kr/p/NZJXR5 .
Body Description
Head and foot rarely protrude into view naturally on live animal 4Lca flic.kr/p/NZJXR5 , can only be examined if animal removed from substrate, or placed on glass. Most of head occupied by large transverse slit-mouth with wrinkled lips , surrounded by white hood 10Lca flic.kr/p/NZJWUf ; no eyes or sensory tentacles.
Aesthetes (sensory tissue) fill canals that permeate the tegmentum and parts of articulamentum; terminate in oval granules as sense organs on dorsal surface of valves. Perinotum (dorsal surface) of girdle, whitish but often stained rusty colour with mineral deposits; densely packed, squarish scales with curled tips give a rough appearance 9Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3nCw . Hyponotum (ventral surface of girdle), whitish variably stained with mineral deposits; has imbricated, bluntly pointed, flat scales (microscope needed to see detail on perinotum and hyponotum). Peripheral margin of girdle has fringe of ribbed pointed spicules about 0.1mm long 1Lca flic.kr/p/NiCR5L . Girdle can be flexed up at posterior to allow release of faeces, excreta, ova or sperm 4Lca flic.kr/p/NZJXR5 .
Open, narrow mantle cavity runs around whole animal; contains ctenidia close to anus at posterior (merobranch arrangement) 10Lca flic.kr/p/NZJWUf . Between foot and hyponotum, the mantle fold is unobtrusive but can seal the mantle cavity and conceal ctenidia when in place. Anus on papilla opens into mantle cavity at posterior where girdle deflected dorsally for expulsion of faeces. Nephridiopores and gonopores open laterally into posterior quarter of cavity. No penis as external fertilization. Foot, elongate ellipse with small projection either side of anal papilla, sole whitish pink centrally, becoming reddish pink towards periphery, no medial dividing line 10Lca flic.kr/p/NZJWUf . Foot spreads widely, concealing pallial cavity with help of mantle fold when gripping substrate.
Key identification features
Leptochiton cancellatus
1: Small; maximum length 8mm (illustrated specimen slightly larger). Valves whitish or cream, often stained in patches or streaks with black manganese and/or rust coloured ferrous deposits. No lateral insertion plates or slits. 2Lca flic.kr/p/NZJYuu
2: Only at LWS and sublittorally. All round Britain. Probably overlooked.
3: Narrow whitish girdle has no pattern, may be stained with rust coloured ferrous, and/or blackish manganese, deposits. Dorsal girdle scales squarish with rolled tip. 9Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3nCw .
4: Arch of valves is moderately high smooth curve with no sign of a keel. Elevation of arch valves iv & v; height/width 39% (Kaas&Belle), but illustrated specimen 46%. 5Lca flic.kr/p/NiCQm1 .
5: No posterior beak on intermediate valves. 4Lca flic.kr/p/NZJXR5 .
6: Cancellated by closely packed, almost touching, oval granules in chainlike lines running radially on valves i & viii, and on lateral areas of valves ii to vii (sometimes obsolete on lateral areas) . Lines longitudinal on central areas of valves ii to vii. 9Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3nCw .
7: Sole whitish pink centrally, becoming reddish pink towards periphery. 10Lca flic.kr/p/NZJWUf .
8: Ctenidia close to anus at posterior (merobranch) 10Lca flic.kr/p/NZJWUf .
9: Tail valve shorter than on L. sarsi; length 45% of width in life position ( 51% on illustrated specimen) 6Lca flic.kr/p/NZJXy1 .
10: Mucro slightly swollen and to posterior of centre of extracted valve viii (part of anterior concealed on live specimens) 6Lca flic.kr/p/NZJXy1 . Postmucronal slope entirely concave 7Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3nHG .
Similar species
*or ** indicate principal distinguishing features.
Lepidochitona cinerea (Linnaeus, 1767). flic.kr/s/aHsk7KqLr3
1*: Maximum length 28mm. Valves diversly coloured and patterned, including whitish resembling Leptochiton cancellatus 12Lca flic.kr/p/NZJWg1 . Lateral insertion plates separated by single slit on each end of valves ii to vii.
2: Midshore level and below. All round Britain. Commonest littoral chiton.
3**: Girdle has a unique (in N.W. Europe) lozenge pattern 13Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3mKj , but sometimes indistinct, especially on whitish specimens which are easily confused with Leptochiton cancellatus 14Lca flic.kr/p/NZJTyY .
4*: Arch of valves is keeled 15Lca flic.kr/p/NZJSEd .
5*: Distinct posterior beak on intermediate valves 12Lca flic.kr/p/NZJWg1 .
6: Dorsal surface of valves has densely packed rounded granules, not in straight lines.
7: Sole pinkish white to orange pink, usually with grey viscera showing centrally.
8*: Usually 16 to19 ctenidia each side for whole length of foot (holobranch).
Leptochiton asellus (Gmelin, 1791)
1*: Maximum size 18mm X 10mm. Valves whitish, sometimes with distinct black longitudinal lines 16Lca flic.kr/p/NjS8yz or general staining by black or rust coloured mineral deposits 17Lca flic.kr/p/NZJRQN . No lateral insertion plates or slits.
2: Only at LWS and sublittorally. All round Britain, probably commonest sublittoral chiton.
3: Whitish girdle has no pattern, may be stained with rust coloured ferrous, and/or blackish manganese, deposits. Dorsal girdle scales elongate, bluntly pointed 18Lca flic.kr/p/NjS7oD .
4**: Arch of valves is quite high with distinct keel* and straight* side slopes 18Lca flic.kr/p/NjS7oD . (Elevation of arch valves iv & v; height/width 36%)
5: Often a slight beak on intermediate valves, especially valves ii & iii.
6: Roughly oval granules in slightly disjointed lines, oriented as on L. cancellatus.
7: Sole whitish pink centrally, becoming reddish pink towards periphery.
8: Eight to thirteen ctenidia in posterior half of pallial groove (merobranch).
9: Tail valve length less than 50% of width in life position.
10: Mucro not swollen and slightly to anterior of centre of valve viii.
Leptochiton scabridus (Jeffreys, 1880).
18.2Lca flic.kr/p/2iiRa54
1: Small; maximum size 8mm X 4mm. Valves whitish to dull orange, sometimes with staining by black or rust coloured mineral deposits. No lateral insertion plates or slit.
2*: Only at LWS and sublittorally. Rare, only SW England, Channel Islands & Brittany.
3: Narrow whitish girdle has no pattern, may be stained with rust coloured ferrous, and/or blackish manganese, deposits.
4: Arch of valves is a smooth curve with very slight indication of carina, lower in profile than on L. cancellatus.
5: No posterior beak on intermediate valves, but anterior of valve ii tends to be angulated.
6*: Rows of raised, round granules on valves, oriented as on L. cancellatus, but coarser. Compare at nature22.com/estran22/mollusques/polyplacodentale/chitons...
7**: Whole sole strikingly bright red. 18.1Lca flic.kr/p/2iizGVC
8: Ctenidia confined to posterior half (merobranch).
9: Tail valve length about 55% of width in life position.
10: Mucro swollen and near centre of valve viii. Postmucronal slope entirely concave.
Leptochiton sarsi Kaas, 1981
Very similar and closely related to L. cancellatus. All Scandinavian specimens previously recorded as L. cancellatus that were examined by Kaas (1981) were considered by him to be L. sarsi. No British records on NBN, but one from Guernsey (1922) and others from Mediterranean (Dell'Angelo et al, 2009), so, if these correctly identified, possibilty that L. sarsi may be in British waters unrecognised.
1: Maximum size 10mm X 5mm.
2*: Western Sweden to northern Norway at depths 40m to 700m.
3: Narrow girdle. Dorsal scales elongate, conical.
4: Arch of valves is high and rounded to slightly keeled. Elevation of arch of valves iv & v; height/width 48%.
6*: Valve granules coarser than on L. cancellatus with wider gaps between them. Granule lines not radial on valves i & viii or lateral areas of valves ii to vii. Lines longitudinal on central areas of valves ii to vii; spaced wider than on L. cancellatus so fewer rows (12 rows match width of an apophysis, about 16 on L. cancellatus). 19Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3tYC & 20Lca flic.kr/p/NZJPRY .
9: Tail valve long, length 60% of width.
10*: Mucro on tail valve viii not swollen and postioned slightly to anterior of centre. Postmucronal slope concave only to immediate posterior of mucro; changes to straight or slightly convex further to posterior 7Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3nHG .
Leptochiton rugatus Carpenter in Pilsbury, 1892
All Pacific specimens previously recorded as L. cancellatus that were examined by Ferreira (1979) were considered by him to be L. rugatus. It has a quite different radula.
Habits and ecology
Lives on and under stones and dead shells on silty sand at LWS and sublittorally to beyond 900 metres. When alarmed, can increase grip suctorially by raising part of hyponotum to form partial vacuum, and if displaced from substrate, can roll into a ball 11Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3ny3 . Respiration: cilia on ctenidia and mantle create inhalent water-current entering pallial cavity wherever girdle is raised at anterior. Water current passes through ctenidia and then along cavity as exhalent current to exit at posterior under raised girdle.
In absence of eyes or of tactile or chemoreceptor tentacles on head, senses environment through aesthetes exposed on surface of shell.
Feeds by scraping micro algae and associated organisms from the rock surface using its hard radula of chitin mineralized with magnetite. Water current in pallial cavity carries excreta from lateral nephridiopores to posterior, where faecal pellets from anus join the flow; all expelled at posterior under raised girdle 9Lca flic.kr/p/Pv3nCw .
Travels by monotaxic retrograde compression waves on sole of foot.
Breeding: dioecious. Water current in mantle cavity carries sperm or ova from lateral gonopores to posterior and out through channel in deflected girdle 10Lca flic.kr/p/NZJWUf . As fertilization is external, synchronised emission of sperm and ova needed to ensure success; trigger in many chiton species is moon-phase/ state of tides. Planktonic trochophore larvae hatch and metamorphose into small adult-form young without intervening veliger stage.
Distribution and status
Shetland to Spain, Madeira and Mediterranean. Not Baltic. GBIF map www.gbif.org/species/5193797 (shows disputed Scandinavian and Pacific records). All around Britain and Ireland on suitable substrate, except scarce/absent in North Sea; NBN UK map species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0021056576
Acknowledgements
I am most grateful to Dr Julia Sigwart for valuable advice, images and access to literature, but I (IFS) am liable for any errors or omissions.
Links and references
Botelho, A. 2013. Zoologger: mollusc grows hardest teeth in the world New Scientist 3rd October 2013 www.newscientist.com/article/dn24329-zoologger-mollusc-gr...
Dell'Angelo, B., Giusti, F., Paolini, P., Sosso, M. and Bonfitto, A. (2009) New data on Polyplacophora from Tuscan Archipelago. I. Leptochiton sarsi Kaas, 1981 and Leptochiton pepezamorai Carmona Zalvide, Urgorri & Garcia, 2004, two species new to the Mediterranean Sea. Italian Journal of Zoology,76:1,76 to 82.
Fernandez, C.Z., Vendrasco, M.J. & Runnegar,B. 2007. Aesthete canal morphology in twelve species of chiton (Polyplacophora). The Veliger 49(2) 51 – 69 www.researchgate.net/publication/246548141_Aesthete_Canal...
Forbes, E. & Hanley S. 1849-53. A history of the British mollusca and their shells. vol. 2 (1853) London, van Voorst. Free pdf at archive.org/stream/historyofbritish02forbe#page/410/mode/2up (Use slide at base of page to select pp.410 to 411.)
Fox, R. 2007. Invertebrate Anatomy On Line. Katharina tunicata lanwebs.lander.edu/faculty/rsfox/invertebrates/katharina....
Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. 1995. Handbook of the marine fauna of north-west Europe. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Jardim, J.A. & Simone, L.R.L. 2010. Redescription of Hanleya brachyplax (Polyplacophora, Hanleyidae) from the south-southeastern Brazilian coast. Pap. Avulsos Zool. (São Paulo) 50 no.40
Jeffreys, J.G. 1862-69. British conchology. vol. 3 (1865). London, van Voorst. (As Chiton cancellatus); Free pdf at archive.org/stream/britishconcholog03jeffr#page/216/mode/2up . (Use slide at base of page to select pp.217-218.)
Jones, A.M. & Baxter, J.M. 1987. Molluscs: Caudofoveata, Solenogastres, Polyplacophora and Scaphopoda London, Linnean Society, and Estuarine and Brackish-water Sciences Association.
Kaas, P. & van Belle, R.A. 1985. Monograph of living chitons Vol 1: 43 and 44, figure on p.42 (no clear demarcation between fig. and adjacent text of L. asellus). Leiden-London-Köln-København: E. J. Brill/W. Backuys. Preview at
books.google.co.uk/books?id=CKautf2EUPkC&pg=PA7&s...
Kaas, P. 1981. Scandinavian species of Leptochiton Gray, 1847 (Mollusca, Polyplacophora). Sarsia 66 :217-229. Bergen.
Abstract at
www.researchgate.net/publication/233359994_Scandinavian_s...
Matthews, G. circa1954. The identification of British chitons. Papers for Students No.9. London, Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Nature22 website, chiton page. (Good images of several chiton species.) nature22.com/estran22/mollusques/polyplacodentale/chitons...
Schwabe, E. 2010. Illustrated summary of chiton terminology. Spixiana 33(2):171-194.
Free pdf at verlag-pfeil.de/04biol/pdf/spix33_2_02.pdf
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138675
Glossary
3Lca = image 3 in Leptochiton cancellatus album.
aesthete (in chitons) = one of complex of canals filled with sensory tissue that permeate tegmentum and parts of articulamentum. Occur in bundles of a large megalaesthete surrounded by several smaller radiating micraesthetes that open as sensory macropores and micropores on dorsal surface of valves. Some are photoreceptors; other function(s) uncertain, may include chemoreception, mechanoreception, properiostracum replenishment and/or secretion of protective substances.
a.k.a. = also known as.
antemucronal area = area situated to anterior of mucro.
apophysis (pl. apophyses) = natural protruberance within a shell for attachment of muscles. On chitons, anterior extension of articulamentum which underlies preceding valve; on all valves except head valve.
aragonite = orthorhombic crystalline mineral form of calcium carbonate www.minerals.net/mineral/aragonite.aspx . Less common on land than calcite, but, currently, the more frequent mineral-form in oceans and living mollusc shells.
articulamentum = ventral shell-layer of chiton valves, usually hard, white, porcelaneous aragonite and often differently coloured in central part. (Partially overlain ventrally by inconspicuous myostracum layer.)
cancellated = lattice like pattern.
chemoreception = sensing of chemicals; “smell / taste”.
chitin = semitransparent flexible horny protein.
chitinous = (adj.) made of chitin.
ctenidium (pl. ctenidia) = comb-like molluscan gill; usually an axis with a row of filaments either side.
dioecious = having separate male and female individuals, not hermaphrodite.
ELWS = extreme low water spring tide (usually near March and September equinoxes).
girdle (on chiton) = peripheral band of thickened, reflexed mantle that encloses ends of valves.
gonopore = opening through which eggs or sperm are released.
haemoglobin = oxygen-carrying substance in blood; scarlet when oxygenated.
holobranch (of chitons) = arrangement of gills in pallial groove that extends full length of foot.
hyponotum = ventral surface of chiton’s girdle.
insertion plate (on most chitons) = extension of articulamentum on lateral margin of intermediate valves, anterior margin of head valve and posterior margin of tail valve. Inserts into, and anchors valve to, the girdle muscle block.
intermediate valve = (of chiton) any valve (ii to vii), except head valve (i) and tail valve (viii).
imbricated = overlapping like roof tiles.
jugal area = triangular middle section of central area of intermediate valves, with apex pointing to posterior; discernible when defined by differences of colour and/or sculpture (dorsal surface).
jugal tract = triangular middle section of central area of intermediate valves, with apex pointing to posterior; discernible when defined by densely arranged aesthete pores (ventral surface).
jugum = triangular middle section of central area of intermediate valves. (See jugal area and jugal tract.)
lateral area (on intermediate valve of chiton) = triangular area with its base along lateral edge of valve and its apex near the centre of the posterior edge. a.k.a. lateral triangle.
LWS = low water spring tide, two periods of a few days each month when tide falls lowest.
magnetite = mineral of iron oxide, hardest material made by any living organism (Botelho, 2013).
mantle = sheet of tissue covering visceral mass of molluscs. Secretes shell of shelled species, and forms part or all of dorsal body surface (notum) of those without shells. On chitons, forms mantle/pallial cavity and is toughened to form the girdle surrounding the shell valves.
megalaesthete = (see aesthete).
merobranch = (of chitons) gills in pallial groove only in posterior two-thirds of animal.
micraesthete = (see aesthete).
monotaxic = (of locomotion waves on foot) single series of waves across complete width of foot.
mucro = (on chiton) projection on tail valve (viii) demarking posterior from rest of valve. Varies in prominence and position.
myoglobin = red oxygen-binding protein in muscle tissue; often in buccal-mass muscles of gastropods. Similar to red haemoglobin in vertebrate blood, but green haemocyanin is usual oxygen-carrier in mollusc blood. See www.researchgate.net/publication/251227038_Radular_myoglo...
myostracum = microscopically thin discontinuous innermost layer of chiton valve.
nephridium (pl. nephridia) = cilia-lined excretory/osmoregulatory tubule (kidney).
nephridiopore = opening of nephridium for excretion. a.k.a. nephropore, or renal pore.
odontophore = firm, approximately ellipsoid, structure of cartilage supporting radula. Protruded like a tongue to operate radula. Often reddish from myoglobin, and medially grooved.
papilla (pl. papillae) = small nipplelike protuberance.
perinotum = dorsal surface of chiton’s girdle.
plankton = animals and plants that drift in pelagic zone (main body of water).
pleural area (on intermediate valve of chiton) = triangular area with its base along anterior edge of valve and its apex near the centre of the posterior edge. a.k.a. median triangle.
porcelaneous = resembling vitreous glazed ceramic material.
postmucronal = situated to posterior of mucro on tail valve.
properiostracum (on chitons) = proteinaceous material covering the shell. Different composition from periostracum of most other molluscs.
quincunx = pattern of five as on playing card.
radula = ribbon of chitin bearing chitinous teeth that is extruded on a tongue-like odontophore of cartilage to rasp food. On chitons and limpets, teeth are usually impregnated with magnetite, a hard magnetic mineral of iron.
radular sac = tube, ending in a caecum, where radula is created and stored.
retrograde (of locomotion waves on foot) = waves travel from anterior to posterior.
SEM = scanning electron microscope.
sublittoral = below level of low water spring tide
trochophore = spherical or pear-shaped larvae that move with aid of girdle of cilia. Stage preceding veliger, passed within gastropod egg in most spp. but free in plankton for limpets, Trochidae, Tricolia pullus and (with no veligers) chitons.
tegmentum = outer shell-layer of chiton valves, usually porous and relatively soft. (Covered by properiostracum when live.)
valves (on chitons) = the eight dorsal, articulated shell plates.
veliger = shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which swims by beating cilia of a velum (bilobed flap).
1: oral tentacle. 2: channel linking cerata. 3: buccal mass. 4: stomach. 5: ovotestis. 6: anal tract. 7: tip of foot.
Internal organs can sometimes be seen in gastropods with semi-transparent bodies.
Anatomy of marine gastropods without dissection. Ian F. Smith
Revision (2016) of article in Mollusc World 28: 13 to 15, March 2012, Conch. Soc. GB & Ireland.
PDF version available for download at www.researchgate.net/publication/310467378_Anatomy_of_mar...
Glossary below
Much anatomy can be observed on molluscs lacking external shells 1GA flic.kr/p/PgD7i7 , and internal organs can sometimes be seen in those with semi-transparent bodies 2GA flic.kr/p/P7dYNq .
But the shell of a sea snail usually conceals most of the soft body, and only parts of the foot, head and siphon are seen when the animal is active 3GA flic.kr/p/P9HhqF .
Improved views of the sole of the foot and underside of the head can be obtained when small snails crawl on the undersurface of the water 4GA flic.kr/p/P7dWMS . Others can be observed by placing them in a submerged plastic petri dish with holes drilled near the edge. When they have a grip, invert the petri dish, letting any air escape from the holes 5GA flic.kr/p/P7dWMb . A small weight may be needed to hold the dish down. Alternatively, use a microscope slide or, for larger specimens, a submerged sheet of glass held up on supports. Species adapted to crawling on sand, such as Tritia reticulata, often have a weak grip when on inverted glass, and adults of large species, such as Buccinum undatum may be unable to support their weight. In such cases, try smaller specimens.
Much more of a snail can be observed if it is induced to extend fully. The simplest method is to place the shell in water with its aperture facing up. A brief glimpse of behind the head, where the penis is usually located on males, may be had as the snail stretches out to grip the substrate and turn the shell 6GA flic.kr/p/PgD3U3 . The form of the penis is often important in differentiating species, but the exposure may be too brief for the necessary detail to be studied. For longer examination, or photography, the turning of the snail needs to be prolonged. This can be sometimes done by holding the spire with forceps, but success varies between species and individuals. For example, Peringia ulvae may extend quickly, Littorina littorea is often slow to emerge and retreats at the slightest movement of the forceps, and Nucella lapillus may stay withdrawn for days if it has fed recently.
Other methods of restraint are needed for reluctant extenders. Small species, like P. ulvae, can be held for longer by pushing the spire into a prepared hole in the edge of a small piece of plasticine about 5mm thick. This leaves both hands free for operation of equipment, and allows one to do something else while waiting for the animal to extend. The effort exerted by the animal against the restraint produces an exposure of much more of the body than during a normal turn 7GA flic.kr/p/PjNi3M . Many can shift a piece of plasticine many times their own size, so weigh it down with a piece of lead. Often, after a few minutes, the snail manages to pull itself free, so check frequently for movement. For photography, avoid brightly coloured plasticine as it may reflect unwanted colour onto the specimen.
Larger species, especially those with short spires, cannot be held by plasticine. Instead, they can be gripped in all-plastic clothes pegs (metal parts rust). To prevent the peg from floating and the snail from moving it, place a piece of lead on it 8GA flic.kr/p/PjNhVc . For photography, paint coloured pegs with black bituminous paint to avoid colour reflections. As individuals of the same species often vary in their willingness to extend, it is advisable to restrain several simultaneously to increase the chance of seeing an example of each sex. Collecting eight mature specimens in the breeding season will make it virtually certain that you have males and females if the sexes are equally frequent.
With patience, well directed lighting and luck, good views or macro-photographs will be had of the head, tentacles and, within the mantle cavity, the ctenidium, anus, and penis or oviduct opening and ovipositor. When the epithelium is thin and translucent, some internal organs may also be discerned, such as the radular sac and odontophore. 9GA flic.kr/p/PjNg5P . 10GA flic.kr/p/P7dU4q . 11GA flic.kr/p/PgD19U . 12GA flic.kr/p/P9Hc4i .
The above techniques will assist examination under a dissecting microscope or hand magnifier, but vibration or shadow movement may cause timid species to withdraw. Best results are often obtained by photographing the extended animal with a digital SLR camera and well directed flash, and subsequently viewing the magnified images on the screen of a computer.
Live examination cannot replace skilled detailed dissection of internal anatomy, but for those who lack the skill, equipment or inclination to dissect, it can provide much interest and information. For studying external anatomy, live examination sometimes has the advantage as the positions of organs on a dissected animal depend on the way the mantle cavity is opened, and they may be collapsed or contracted, even when the animal was narcotised and relaxed before killing. On live animals the organs are in more predictable positions and more likely to be expanded . Graham, (1988), writing of Nucella lapillus, states, “The head is a flat transverse ridge...Each tentacle has an eye about one third of its length up from the base”. This description may be based on collapsed dead material as all live specimens that I have examined had the eye about two thirds of the way up the fully expanded tentacle, and the head was not flat 13GA flic.kr/p/P9HbaV .
References
Alder, J. & Hancock, A. 1845-1855. A monograph of the British nudibranchiate mollusca. Ray Society, London.
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1962. British prosobranch molluscs: their functional anatomy and ecology. Ray Society, London. (Has index of species.)
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1994. British prosobranch molluscs: their functional anatomy and ecology. Revised edition. Ray Society, London. (Much new material but lacks index of species.)
Graham, A. 1988. Molluscs: prosobranch and pyramidellid gastropods: keys and notes for the identification of the species. Brill & Backhuys, for Linn. Soc. Lond. & Estuarine and Brackish-water Sciences Assoc. Synopses of the British Fauna (New Series) no.2. Edition 2 (662pages). Leiden. (Edition 1 of series, 1971, 112 pages, is no substitute.)
Thompson, T.E. 1976. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs 1. Ray Society, London.
Equipment Source
Ecoforce clothes pegs; use search on Ebay www.ebay.co.uk/
Glossary, including abbreviations
1GA, 2GA etc = numbers of images in Gastropod Anatomy Album.
aperture = mouth of gastropod shell; outlet for head and foot.
buccal mass = anterior of digestive system including an odontophore that supports anterior of radula, and a complex of muscles to operate them and other mouthparts. Often red or pink from myoglobin.
chemoreception = sensing of chemicals; “smell / taste”.
chitin = semitransparent flexible horny protein.
chitinous = (adj.) made of chitin.
ctenidium (pl. ctenidia) = comb-like molluscan gill; usually an axis with a row of filaments either side.
hypobranchial gland = thickened, sometimes puckered, tissue on roof of mantle cavity of many gastropods. Secretes mucous to trap and consolidate particles from inhalent water before expulsion in exhalent current. Often other biologically active compounds produced. Gland occurs also in some bivalves and cephalopods (ink sac).
mantle = sheet of tissue covering visceral mass of molluscs. Secretes shell of shelled species, and forms part or all of dorsal body surface (notum) of those without shells.
mantle skirt = extension on gastropods of mantle proper as a flap roofing a cavity containing gills, genital and renal openings, anus etc.
myoglobin = red oxygen-binding protein in muscle tissue; often in buccal-mass muscles of gastropods. Similar to red haemoglobin in vertebrate blood, but green haemocyanin is usual oxygen-carrier in mollusc blood. See www.researchgate.net/publication/251227038_Radular_myoglo...
odontophore = firm, approximately ellipsoid, structure of cartilage supporting radula. Protruded like a tongue to operate radula. Usually reddish from myoglobin, and medially grooved.
opercular disc = part of foot that growing operculum rests on.
opercular lobe = extension of opercular disc beyond edge of operculum.
operculum = plate of horny conchiolin, rarely calcareous, used to close shell aperture.
ovotestis = hermaphrodite organ serving as both ovary and testis.
oviduct = internal tube to carry ova from ovary to the exterior.
ovipositor = structure used in depositing spawn.
radula = ribbon of chitin bearing chitinous teeth (sometimes mineralized) that is extruded on a tongue-like odontophore of cartilage to rasp food. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radula
radular sac = tube, ending in a caecum, where radula is created and stored.
rhinophore = chemo-receptor tentacle; nudibranch sea slugs have a pair on top of head.
siphon = extension of mantle to form a channel for respiratory water current.
siphonal canal = grooved or tubular extension of outer lip of the shell aperture on some snails, to support the siphon.
veil = flat anterior extension of head.
Go here, and watch the newest videos. It does require a logging in, but well worth it.
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I might delete this part because it sounds like I am crazy and mean. And I am not mean. Usually.
Vacant shells are often entirely translucent milky-white.
Shell height 1.6 mm, Anglesey, Wales, May 2016.
Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW
Sets of OTHER SPECIES: www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Rissoella diaphana (Alder, 1848)
Synonyms: Rissoa diaphana Alder, 1848; Rissoella glabra Gray, 1847.
Meaning of name: Rissoella= named after G.A. Risso. diaphana (Greek) = transparent, translucent.
Vernacular: Gewone dropslak (Dutch);
GLOSSARY below.
Introduction
Rissoella diaphana is a minute gastropod living on fine green and red sea weeds in rock pools, sheltered sea lochs and lagoons at marine and brackish salinities. It is unlikely to be noticed unless samples of weed are examined under magnification, preferably with a stereo-microscope at 10 to 20X. Its small size and specialized habitat may have led to evolution of some of its unusual anatomical features.
Shell description
The minute, colourless, transparent shell is usually 1-1.5 mm high and 0.78-0.85 mm wide (Fretter & Graham, 1978). Exceptionally, it reaches 1.95 mm high and 1.05 mm broad, 01Rd flic.kr/p/HARucc . The shell walls are very thin and fragile. It has fine sutures distinctly defined between tumid whorls which are smoothly rounded except for a flattened, narrow, subsutural shoulder 02Rd flic.kr/p/HyryXW .
Its profile is conical with a blunt apex formed by a protoconch which is slightly wider than the teleoconch at their juncture, causing a small bulge. The apical angle is about 50° 02Rd flic.kr/p/HyryXW . Its width is 54-60% of the height, decreasing with growth. The height of the body whorl is 64-75% of shell height 01Rd flic.kr/p/HARucc . The only sculpture on the smooth surface is sparse growth lines. The height of the oval aperture is 36-47% of the shell height, decreasing with growth 01Rd flic.kr/p/HARucc . The adapical angle of the aperture is c. 90º or a little less. . The thin palatal (outer) lip curves smoothly and the slightly sigmoid edge of the columellar lip continues as the parietal lip. The columellar lip is slightly reflected over a small umbilical chink 02Rd flic.kr/p/HyryXW . When live, the shell is glossy, transparent and colourless, clearly showing the distinctive colours and form of the soft parts within 02Rd flic.kr/p/HyryXW . Vacant shells may be translucent milky-white 03Rd flic.kr/p/HyryEG . The oval operculum has concentric whorls around its nucleus at the middle of its columellar edge, adjacent to the umbilical chink. It is usually transparent colourless apart from a faint brownish streak on its columellar edge 02Rd flic.kr/p/HyryXW . On very large specimens, the operculum may be entirely translucent horn-colour 04Rd flic.kr/p/HhHQAG . The inner face of the operculum has three ribs radiating from a peg-shaped process; one in each direction along the columellar edge and a third across the centre of the operculum. On live melanistic specimens the pale ribs can be seen through the operculum, contrasting with the black flesh 05Rd flic.kr/p/Hyryiu . On more usual specimens, the pale flesh is seen through the operculum, often with an arc of brown opercular lobe at either end of palatal edge 02Rd flic.kr/p/HyryXW .
Body description
The snout is so deeply and widely bifid as to resemble stout blunt tentacles 06Rd flic.kr/p/HhHQiN .The mouth is a longitudinal slit at its base 07Rd flic.kr/p/HhHQc5 . Cephalic tentacles arise from the base of the snout; they are cylindrical, slightly tapering to blunt tips 08Rd flic.kr/p/HyrxCG . Each eye is on a slight bulge far back from the tentacles; they are usually kept within the transparent shell 06Rd flic.kr/p/HhHQiN and are only rarely exposed beyond it 09Rd flic.kr/p/HyrxuA .
The long narrow foot tapers at its posterior, and the anterior is truncated with a medial embayment 10Rd flic.kr/p/Hyrxdy and a rounded flexible lobe at each side 11Rd flic.kr/p/GMoRDQ . The sole is translucent white with opaque white spots. It is divided by a medial longitudinal furrow which has at its brownish centre the posterior pedal mucous gland with a groove running to the posterior. On typical pale specimens the whitish opercular disc supporting the operculum is slightly exposed laterally as small brown opercular lobes 12Rd flic.kr/p/HyrvZb . The disc and lobes are often visible through the transparent operculum when the animal is retracted into its shell 10Rd flic.kr/p/Hyrxdy . The bilaminate structure of the foot is clearly distinguished on melanistic specimens as the ventral sole layer is white and the dorsal layer is black. The two layers do not precisely coincide. To the anterior of the snout the dorsal layer of the foot, like the snout, is deeply and widely bifid exposing a large 'V' of the white sole layer 13Rd flic.kr/p/HARsmD . The dorsal layer can shift position relative to the sole layer, sometimes extending beyond it 14Rd flic.kr/p/Hyrx4f and sometimes retracting short of it 13Rd flic.kr/p/HARsmD . The anterior pedal mucous gland opens at the fork of the 'V' 07Rd flic.kr/p/HhHQc5 . The wide white periphery of the foot on melanistic specimens suggests that the upper-layer may not cover the sole-layer there 14Rd flic.kr/p/Hyrx4f .
The ground colour of flesh on typical specimens is translucent white with opaque white spots; usually with brown longitudinal bands on the dorsal surface of the snout, head and neck and a brown diagonal band on each side of the foot and brown opercular lobes 09Rd flic.kr/p/HyrxuA . The extent and shade of brown varies 01Rd flic.kr/p/HARucc ; some lack brown on the opercular lobes and on some the brown coalesces all over body and some others are entirely purple-brown or black. Usually, the sole, tentacles and distal half of the snout are whitish even on melanistic specimens 15Rd flic.kr/p/HhHPxQ .
The whitish mantle often extends slightly beyond the edge of the aperture 06Rd flic.kr/p/HhHQiN . Copious mucus can be exuded by mantle 09Rd flic.kr/p/HyrxuA . The transparent shell reveals the colours of the body within it. The hypobranchial gland consists of some groups of white and yellow granules and one large dark brown/black oval. There are various other brown and opaque white marks in the mantle, a brown digestive gland interspersed with black excretory cells, and a yellow/orange hermaphrodite gonad 16Rd flic.kr/p/HhHPmh . There is no ctenidium or osphradium within the mantle cavity. A small penis lies in a groove on the right.
Key identification features
Rissoella diaphana
1) Shell, usual maximum height 1.5 mm, extreme 1.95 mm, conical. Height noticeably more than (1.7 to 1.85X ) the width. Aperture less than 50% of shell height (usually 36-47%). 01Rd flic.kr/p/HARucc . Colourless transparent when live, milky white when vacant 03Rd flic.kr/p/HyryEG .
2) Conspicuous brown/black oval in hypobranchial gland is visible dorsally through body whorl of live animal 16Rd flic.kr/p/HhHPmh (Obscured in melanistic specimens).
3) Snout deeply and widely bifid 06Rd flic.kr/p/HhHQiN , cephalic tentacles not bifid 08Rd flic.kr/p/HyrxCG .
4) Small, narrow umbilical chink 02Rd flic.kr/p/HyryXW .
In marine and brackish salinities.
Similar species
Rissoella opalina (Jeffreys, 1848)
17Rd flic.kr/p/2pydqDK 18Rd flic.kr/p/2pydqpM & 19Rd flic.kr/p/2pybPS4
1) Shell, maximum height 2 mm, rounded but not as globular as R. globularis. Height a little more than (c. 1.4X) the width. Aperture height c. 50% of shell height. Yellowish brown when vacant.
2) Wide hypobranchial gland with U shaped end, visible through transparent body whorl, is yellowish or white with saturated colour in flounced margin. Scattered, variable, rounded and squared brown or black dots are also visible in body whorl on mantle and body.
3) Snout slightly bifid, but cephalic tentacles deeply and widely bifid.
4) Small umbilical chink, more obscure than on R. diaphana.
Rissoella globularis (Forbes & Hanley, 1852). See figs. 17-19 in Villari & Scuderi (2022) doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2022.13.3.717.728
1) Shell, maximum height 1 mm, globular. Height equal to or slightly less than width. Aperture height about 60% of shell height. White when vacant.
2) Brown viscera visible through transparent shell when alive.
3) Snout bifid, short cephalic tentacles not bifid.
4) Round umbilicus.
Most British records from W. Scotland. Minute size may cause it to be overlooked.
Habits and ecology
R. diaphana lives on fine red or green sea weeds below MTL on rocky shores, especially in large rock pools and sites, such as sea lochs and lagoons where there is shelter from strong wave action or currents that dislodge snails and their food from weed. Most records are from coasts reached by oceanic water.
R. diaphana relies on pallial respiration as it lacks a ctenidium. The kidney extends forwards into the mantle skirt where its rich vascular supply assists oxygenation of the haemolymph (blood). The respiratory current is created by strip of ciliated epithelium between the anus and mantle edge; it draws oxygenating water through the mantle cavity and expels faecal pellets and excreta.
The narrow furrowed foot with flexible anterolateral lobes 11Rd flic.kr/p/GMoRDQ is well adapted for gripping and movement among filaments of weed. The posterior pedal gland exudes mucus which is formed into a thread in a ciliated groove running to the posterior of the foot. The thread hardens on contact with sea water and is used to secure the animal and assist movement between different levels.
It feeds by grazing diatoms, algal fragments and detritus trapped by filamentous weeds. Breeding is in spring and summer. Like most heterobranchs it is a simultaneous hermaphrodite with mutual internal fertilization by short penes. Egg capsules are manufactured one at a time in the pallial oviduct. The capsules are hemispherical with a flat base that is attached to fine weed. Each capsule contains one or two ova floating in fluid. The brief veliger stage is passed within the capsule; crawlers hatching after two weeks. Subsequent growth is rapid when conditions are suitable. Several generations may coexist in summer, but in winter numbers decline and mainly juveniles are found, though occasional very large specimen, c. 2mm, found in early spring 01Rd flic.kr/p/HARucc suggests that some adults may survive winter.
Distribution and status
R. diaphana occurs from Norway to the Canary Islands and into the Mediterranean. It is absent from the Baltic and there are no records from the continental coast of the North Sea, GBIF map www.gbif.org/species/5191465. In Britain, it is found mainly in the west between the Isle of Wight and Orkney, but is absent from the north-east Irish Sea. There are few records from the North Sea coast of Britain, but it may be overlooked as it was found at five sites/dates in North Yorkshire in 1992 and 2014 during visits by experienced members of Conchological Society of G.B. & Ireland 20Rd flic.kr/p/HH5VLk . U.K. map NBN species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000177731
Species of Rissoellidae are difficult to distinguish globally because the small shells have few useful features and there is lack of consensus on which soft-part characters are diagnostic (Caballer et al 2011). But much has been done to clarify European species by Villari and Scuderi (2022).
Acknowledgements
For use of images I gratefully thank Marc and Florence Cochu and Alen Petani.
Links and references
Caballer, M., Ortea, J. & Narciso S. 2011. Description of two new species of Rissoella Gray, 1847 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Heterobranchia) from Venezuela, with a key to the Caribbean species known for the genus. zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=3048
Forbes, E. & Hanley S. 1853. A history of the British mollusca and their shells. vol. 3 , London, van Voorst. (As Jeffreysia diaphana; archive.org/stream/historyofbritish03forb#page/150/mode/2up
Fretter, V. 1948. The structure and life history of some minute prosobranchs of rock pools: Skeneopsis planorbis (Fabricius), Omalogyra atomus (Philippi), Rissoella diaphana (Alder) and Rissoella opalina (Jefffreys). J. mar. biol. Ass. U. K. , 27 (3): 597-632. plymsea.ac.uk/1294/ or www.mba.ac.uk/nmbl/old_jmba/vol27/vol27no3.htm
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1962. British prosobranch molluscs. London, Ray Society.
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1978. The prosobranch molluscs of Britain and Denmark. Part 4 Marine Rissoacea. J. Moll. Stud. Suppl. 6.
Graham, A. 1988. Prosobranch and pyramidellid gastropods. London.
Jeffreys, J.G. 1867. British conchology. vol. 4. London, van Voorst. (As Jeffreysia diaphana) archive.org/stream/britishconcholog04jeffr#page/58/mode/2up
Villari, A. & Scuderi, D. 2022. Mainly Mediterranean Rissoellidae (Heterobranchia Acteonimorpha?) with the description of Rissoella camillae n. sp. Biodiversity Journal, 13 (3): 717–728. doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2022.13.3.717.728
Wigham, G.D. & Graham, A. 2022. Marine gastropods 4: Heterobranchia 1. Synopses of the British Fauna (New Series) no.63. (300 pages). Field Studies Council, Telford, England.
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=141147
Glossary
abapical = away from the apex of the shell.
adapical = towards the apex of the shell.
anterolateral = situated in front and to the side of.
aperture = mouth of gastropod shell; outlet for head and foot.
bifid = divided into two parts by a cleft.
Caenogastropoda = Littorinimorpha and Neogastropoda; mostly sea snails. Combined with the Patellogastropoda, they formed most of the now unaccepted Prosobranchia in the Twentieth Century.
cephalic = (adj.) of or on the head.
cilia = (pl.) vibrating linear extensions of membrane used in feeding or locomotion.
ciliated = (adj.) coated with cilia.
columella = solid or hollow axial “little column” around which gastropod shell spirals; hidden inside shell, except on final whorl next to lower part of inner lip of aperture where hollow ones may end in an umbilicus, umbilical chink or siphonal canal.
columellar = (adj.) of or near columella (central axis of spiral gastropod).
columellar lip =lower (abapical) part of inner lip of aperture.
diatom = microscopic aquatic alga with siliceous cell-walls.
ctenidium = comb-like molluscan gill.
distal = away from centre of body or point of attachment.
epithelium = tissue forming outer layer of body surface and lining the alimentary canal and other hollow structures.
haemolymph = circulating fluid in molluscs which carries nutrients, waste and hormones. Analogous to vertebrate blood, but most molluscs have copper-based haemocyanin, instead of red haemoglobin, to carry oxygen.
height = (of gastropod shells) distance from apex of spire to base of aperture.
hermaphrodite, simultaneous = individual acts as both male and female at the same time.
Heterobranchia = includes Nudibranchia, most sea slugs with internal shell and the Rissoellidae which were formerly included in the now unaccepted Prosobranchia.
hypobranchial gland = thickened, sometimes puckered, tissue on roof of mantle cavity of many gastropods. Secretes mucus to trap and consolidate particles from inhalant water. Often other biologically active compounds produced.
mantle = sheet of tissue which secretes the shell and forms a cavity for the genital and renal openings, anus etc.
MTL = mean tide level.
opercular = (adj.) of the operculum.
opercular disc = part of foot that growing operculum rests on.
opercular lobe = extension of opercular disc beyond edge of part of operculum.
operculum = plate of horny conchiolin used to close shell aperture.
osphradium = organ for testing water quality (chemical and/or for particles).
palatal lip = outer lip of gastropod aperture.
pallial = (adj.) of the mantle (a.k.a. pallium).
pallial respiration = oxygen absorbed from water by the mantle (a.k.a. pallium).
parietal lip = inner side of gastropod aperture adapically of columellar lip.
periostracum = thin horny layer of chitinous material often coating shells.
plankton = animals and plants which drift in pelagic zone (main body of water).
protoconch = apical whorls produced during embryonic and larval stages of gastropod; often different in form from other whorls (teleoconch).
subsutural = located immediately below a suture.
suture = groove or line where whorls of gastropod shell adjoin.
teleoconch = entire gastropod shell other than the apical, embryonic & larval stage protoconch.
umbilicus = cavity up axis of some gastropods, open as a hole or chink on base of shell.
umbilical chink = narrow slit-like umbilicus, often inconspicuous.
veliger = shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which swims by beating cilia of a velum (bilobed flap). Stage may be passed in plankton or within liquid-filled egg-capsule.
Done for the Macro Mondays 'Decoration' theme.
Glossary: Chanukia is a Chanukah menorah, or candelabrum.
The metal figures in the menorah not only support the candle cups, they adorn and beautify the whole piece. This menorah was a wedding gift to me & Nitza.
Nikon D5100, AF-S Nikkor 35/1.8g. Happy holidays and happy Macro Monday!
Foot of uniform width for most of its length with truncated anterior and tapered at posterior. Foot visible dorsally as a narrow border only on the posterior third (1). Body and all appendages covered in well defined orange and, smaller, black pigment marks, and less distinct opaque whitish marks. L. 11.5 mm. Menai Strait, Wales, September 2015.
Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW
Sets of OTHER SPECIES: www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Thecacera pennigera (Montagu, 1813)
Synonyms: Thecacera maculata Eliot, 1905 ; Thecacera lamellata Barnard, 1933.
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140840
GLOSSARY below.
Body description
T. pennigera grows up to 30 mm long. When extended, it is long and slender with a truncated anterior and taper to a pointed posterior 01Tp flic.kr/p/DzPfLj . The body is smooth and translucent white often revealing central pale-buff viscera 02Tp flic.kr/p/DzPeXL . There are no ridges representing the vestigial edge of the mantle such as on Polycera spp. The body and all appendages are covered in well defined orange and black pigment marks and less-well defined opaque whitish marks. The pigment marks are more numerous and, relative to body size, smaller on large specimens 03Tp flic.kr/p/MDTtGa . The penis/common genital opening is behind the right rhinophore 04Tp flic.kr/p/LPNfu9 , 05Tp flic.kr/p/DA9TFH & 06Tp flic.kr/p/MDTkNe .
The rhinophores have a smooth basal third, and the upper two thirds have up to 14 prominent lamellae including incomplete ones 07Tp flic.kr/p/MMgqKX . They are translucent-white with pigment marks like the body. They are enclosed for almost their full height on all sides, except the mesial side, by a flared sheath with a projecting collar-like summit 08Tp flic.kr/p/EvdME1.
Three or five, bipinnate or tripinnate gills 09Tp flic.kr/p/MMgpjk arise from a common base in front of the anus near the centre of the notum 10Tp flic.kr/p/Epj5yT . The pinnae are protected by the distally facing, orange and black blotched, stout main shafts of the gills 11Tp
flic.kr/p/E6qfm3 . The gills are arranged in a ‘U’ open to the posterior where they are shielded by a pair of large, erect, club-like, glandular lobes. The lobes are coloured like the body and have a large, internally opaque-white tip 10Tp flic.kr/p/Epj5yT . They are sometimes deformed 12Tp flic.kr/p/E6qcv3 .
Viewed dorsally, the anterior of the head is rectangular 13Tp flic.kr/p/En69mS , sometimes with a slight medial notch 08Tp flic.kr/p/EvdME1 leading to the mouth 14Tp flic.kr/p/En68w5 . There are no oral tentacles or oral veil with elongate processes, but the head expands on each side into a wide lateral flap to conceal the white propodial tentacles 15Tp flic.kr/p/MMgfxx .
The narrow sole is translucent white with variable numbers of opaque black spots 15Tp flic.kr/p/MMgfxx . When extended, it is of uniform width for most of its length, tapering gently to a point at the posterior and extending at the convex anterior into distinct propodial tentacles 14Tp flic.kr/p/En68w5 . There is a distinct, wide median groove on the posterior part of the sole, and some dorsal markings are visible through it, especially laterally. The foot is narrow and only visible dorsally as a narrow fringe coloured as the rest of the body 01Tp flic.kr/p/DzPfLj .
Key identification features
Thecacera pennigera
1) In Atlantic, body has numerous orange and smaller black marks. In Pacific, marks often fewer and larger.
2) No oral veil with elongate processes 12Tp flic.kr/p/E6qcv3 .
3) Each rhinophore enclosed on three sides by clubbed sheath, mesially open, almost as high as rhinophore, and with orange and black marks. 08Tp flic.kr/p/EvdME1
4) Two large, translucent white, erect, elongate lobes behind gills, with internal opaque white in tip, and with orange and black marks on surface 10Tp flic.kr/p/Epj5yT .
Similar species
Polycera quadrilineata (Müller, 1776) and Polycera norvegica (Sørensen, Rauch, Pola & Malaquias, 2020) 16Tp flic.kr/p/E6qbDJ
1) Occasionally, have black and orange marks on body.
2) Oral veil with four to six yellow elongate processes.
3) No sheath enclosing rhinophores.
4) Two large, translucent white, yellow-tipped, erect, elongate lobes behind gills.
Habits and ecology
T. pennigera is mainly sublittoral and occasionally found at ELWS. It feeds on Bugula plumosa and probably other Bugula species. Its local abundance fluctuates greatly, probably because Bugula species are opportunist colonisers of bare surfaces, lasting until displaced by less ephemeral growths (Rudman, 2002). Dispersal is probably assisted by Bugula on ship hulls (Thompson & Brown, 1984). It breeds when under 12 mm length. It is a simultaneous hermaphrodite. The spawn mass is a short, flattened, white or fawn band wrapped around Bugula 17Tp flic.kr/p/EpiZZH & 18Tp flic.kr/p/E6q4Wq or attached along one edge to the substrate from May to September in Britain. It is not known whether it hatches as planktonic, shelled, veliger larvae or as miniature crawling adults (Masterson, 2007).
The striking colour pattern is cryptic among the orange stems and orange-brown, spherical, resting-stage of zooids of Bugula 17Tp flic.kr/p/EpiZZH . The glandular lobes by the gills distract attack from them, and they probably secrete a repugnatory substance. The thickened white collar of the rhinophore-sheath may do likewise 12Tp flic.kr/p/E6qcv3 .
Distribution and status
T. pennigera is reputed to be a cosmopolitan species, first discovered in England, probably originating in the Pacific where both small and large mark forms occur (Rudman, 1998) GBIF map www.gbif.org/species/2291814 and iNaturalist map with images www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=51001 . Molecular sequencing may yet show its geographical forms to be several species. In Europe it occurs from western Ireland and the Netherlands into the Mediterranean. In Britain, it has been found on western and southern coasts from Suffolk to Anglesey and in the Isle of Man U.K. map NBN species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0021056263 .
Acknowledgement I thank Jim Anderson for use of his image of Polycera norvegica.
References and links
Alder, J. & Hancock, A. 1845-1855. A monograph of the British nudibranchiate mollusca. London, Ray Society.
Masterson, J. 2007. Report on Thecacera pennigera. Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, U.S.A. www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Thecacera_pennigera.htm
Rudman, W.B. 1997-2008. Sea Slug Forum www.seaslugforum.net/find/thecpen
Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. 1984. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs 2. London, Ray Society.
Glossary
bipinnate = (of gill plume) twofold branching; boughs and branches, but no subsequent twigs; in one plane like a feather.
distal = away from centre of body or from point of attachment.
ELWS = extreme low water spring tide (usually near March and September equinoxes).
hermaphrodite, simultaneous = individual acts as both male and female at the same time with similar partner(s).
lamellae = (of sea slugs) small plates on rhinophores or leaflets of gill.
mantle = (of nudibranchs) sheet of tissue forming part or all of notum.
mesial = (adj.) on or facing towards the midline of the body.
notum = dorsal surface of the animal.
pinna = (pl. pinnae) primary element/leaflet of a pinnate gill, leaf, feather etc.
plankton = animals and plants that drift in pelagic zone (main body of water).
propodial tentacles = tentacular, lateral extensions on anterior of the foot.
rhinophore = chemo-receptor tentacle; many sea slugs have a pair on top of the head.
tripinnate = (of gill plume) threefold branching; “boughs, branches, twigs” in one plane like a feather.
veliger = shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which swims by beating cilia of a velum (bilobed flap).
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Highest profile (H/L 34%) in sample of eighteen.
In profile, anterior and posterior slightly convex.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION part B BELOW
SPECIES DESCRIPTION part A flic.kr/p/BG8mKq
Key id. features 4Pu flic.kr/p/BG8hhs
OTHER SPECIES ALBUMS www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
GLOSSARY below.
Patella_ulyssiponensis Gmelin, 1791
Identification of British patellid limpets.
With the exception of shells with height >50% of length (only P. vulgata grows that high, but many P. vulgata have low shells), shell-exteriors cannot be relied on, and shell-interiors can be confusing. Examination, in good light under magnification, of extended pallial tentacles on living animals is essential for consistent accurate discrimination of the three rock-dwelling Patella species. Best achieved with specimen adhering to underside of supported glass-sheet in black-based container of seawater.
Some morphologically intermediate forms can only be reliably identified by sequencing DNA or allozyme study. Intermediates result from similar environmental factors affecting different species in similar ways and are not hybrids (Sanna et al., 2011 and Sá-Pinto et al., 2007). For the purpose of recording for distribution schemes it is advisable to disregard intermediates unless DNA or allozymes can be employed, especially beyond or on the limits of known distributions. Intermediates most frequent near limit of distributions of P. depressa and P. ulyssiponensis in Isle of Wight , perhaps because conditions not optimal (Fretter and Graham, 1994).
Key identification features of typical British specimens.
Patella ulyssiponensis
1. Basal half of pallial tentacles has opaque pigment which can be white, off-white, cream or, on large specimens, yellowish or orange. The distal half fades to a translucent tip. Opaque basal half is often distinct from translucent mantle-skirt that they arise from, so it is possible to confuse with P. depressa. It is important to use pallial tentacles in combination with foot-colour/shell-length for identification. Examples at 26Pu flic.kr/p/BGqszN .
2. Foot that is NOT pitch-brown/black or dark khaki. It can be whitish when young 30Pu flic.kr/p/BGqk4q becoming yellowish 31Pu flic.kr/p/BGrKw1 and, sometimes, orange with age 21Pu flic.kr/p/AUuNww . Juveniles under 12mm length may show a blackish internal shadow through the thin pale translucent foot 30Pu flic.kr/p/BGqk4q as they lack gonads above the foot that mask the dark viscera in adults.
Similar species
Patella vulgata
Extremely variable species; foot colours and nearly all shell-features have overlaps with P. depressa and P. ulyssiponensis.
1. Pigment-less pallial tentacles are slender, translucent and same colour as mantle-skirt they arise from. 40Pu flic.kr/p/BPJ1vQ .
Cautions:
Pallial tentacles of P. vulgata may look white when arise from colourless mantle-skirt in some lighting, but no pigment 41Pu flic.kr/p/AUxuXs .
Translucency and fineness of pallial tentacles of P. vulgata often make discernment difficult, especially when mantle skirt retracted from shell-rim and pallial tentacles viewed against shell 42Pu flic.kr/p/BGtg3y ; often virtually invisible when out of water as may be retracted as well as highly translucent 43Pu flic.kr/p/AUDqUz .
Foot colour of P. vulgata varies greatly, sometimes orange resembling P. ulyssiponensis 53Pu flic.kr/p/BPKsw5.
Shell interior can be white or tinted orange in P. vulgata 53Pu flic.kr/p/BPKsw5 and 44Pu flic.kr/p/BPKJ6G .
Patella depressa
[1 & 2 in combination, not singly, are diagnostic of typical specimens but exclude intermediates.]
1. Pigmented pallial tentacles are opaque chalky-white for more than half of extended-length; may have translucent tip; distinctly whiter than buff mantle-skirt from which they arise 45Pu flic.kr/p/BJLMBx . Even when mantle-skirt retracted, pallial tentacles often clearly visible contrasting with the darker mantle 46Pu flic.kr/p/AUxm6u .
2. Sole of foot pitch-brown 47Pu flic.kr/p/AUDiJH to black 46Pu flic.kr/p/AUxm6u .
3. On shell-interior, whitish projecting points of ribs have short, unglazed, chalky, pure-white central line, but reduced or lacking where projecting points of ribs eroded 48Pu flic.kr/p/BS4e7v . [This feature recently recognised by S. Payne, and applies to all in large sample examined by IFS. Unsure yet if universal on P. depressa and exclusive of P. vulgata and P. ulyssiponensis.]
Caution:
Shell interior can be orange-cream in P. depressa 49Pu flic.kr/p/BixiVz
Patella caerulea Linnaeus, 1758.
Does not occur in Britain. In Iberia and Mediterranean, separation from it of some specimens of P. ulyssiponensis could not be achieved with foot colour and shell morphology by Sanna et al. (2011) who relied on the use of DNA sequencing. They did not mention attempting the use of pallial tentacle colour on live specimens; it may be worth investigation. See Sanna et al. for images of P. caerulea.
Habits and ecology
P. ulyssiponensis is a southern species which reaches its northern limit in south-west Norway and locally at cold winter-sea areas of Baltic, North Sea and north-east Irish Sea. It lives on rocky shores with Ballantine (1961) wave exposure scale 1- 4 or 5 where turbidity does not prevent algal growth. It is often the dominant species of limpet at mid- and low-tide levels on extremely and very exposed shores (scales 1 & 2). It can be common on exposed (scale 3) lower shores, and present on semi-exposed shores (scale 4) but largely confined to lower levels or to pools lined with encrusting calcareous algae at higher shore levels. On fairly sheltered (scale 5) shores it is absent or confined to pools. It is usually found on bedrock, not on shingle or loose boulders, and it extends into the sublittoral zone. It is unable to produce very large, thick, high-domed shells, like those of some P. vulgata 50Pu flic.kr/p/AUDcK8 , to resist desiccation on drained rock on upper shores. P. ulyssiponensis is reported to be a consistently homing species (Branch, 1981a); adults always after feeding-excursions seeking to return to same position where a deep home-scar can be developed when substrate is relatively soft encrusting calcareous algae 7Pu flic.kr/p/AUibCP . Differences in amount of opaque, white, porcelaneous material on interior of shells at different localities may be due differences in suitability of environment 15Pu flic.kr/p/AUm6kt . Locomotion by retrograde waves alternating on each side (ditaxic) of sole; muscles alternately compress/relax against blood trapped between them to create waves. Feeding: most frequently grazes on calcareous encrusting algae and Corallina, ingesting the algae and organic deposits on their surface. Grazing is facilitated by powerful muscles in large buccal mass, and by rust-coloured iron-reinforced teeth on long radula with plentiful replacements for worn teeth 36Pu flic.kr/p/AUvMhW . Length varies seasonally; shorter when wear of active feeding exceeds growth rate. Patella spp. wear out up to two rows of teeth per day (Sigel, 2008 ). About four rows of teeth are in contact with substrate during feeding; loose particles are retained by rim of surrounding jaw# and the licker 38Pu flic.kr/p/BJKboP which sweeps them up at the end of the radula stroke. Long coiled intestine compacts faeces (often yellowish from high lime content obtained from calcareous algae) 35Pu flic.kr/p/BivTv4 into firm faecal strings that will not contaminate gills in pallial groove; compensates for adults lacking hypobranchial gland to produce mucus to bind particles exiting from nuchal cavity. Cilia on roof of nuchal cavity and side of foot conduct faecal matter from anus in nuchal cavity to middle of right side 24Pu flic.kr/p/BS1DhR . Faeces and debris accumulate there until periodic sharp contraction of pedal-retractor muscle clamps shell down and forcefully flushes water and waste out of shell (Fretter & Graham 1962 & 1994). When limpets removed from rock, accumulated pile of faecal strings often found in position. Cilia also create inhalent water-current from left of head through nuchal cavity, where urogenital openings located, and thence carry excreta and ova/sperm to exterior. Colourless interior shell-layers may be stained orange by digestive gland when feeding on red algae in both P. ulyssiponensis 4Pu flic.kr/p/BG8hhs and P. vulgata 43Pu flic.kr/p/AUDqUz Predators reported to be able to dislodge P. vulgata shells probably take P. ulyssiponensis too; they include gulls (Larus spp.), oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus), crabs, starfish and rats. Nucella lapillus bores through the shell, usually to the pedal-retractor muscle where the adjacent viscera are accessible obliquely to its radula without having to bore through the thick amphora# shell-layers covering the viscera 51Pu flic.kr/p/AUDb42 . Boring takes several days, but is rewarded with a large food supply, providing the Nucella isn't dislodged before completion . Respiration: gill-cilia create gentle local inhalent respiratory water currents all around perimeter of animal from adjacent shell-rim onto gills, and exhalent currents below gills back to shell-rim 24Pu flic.kr/p/BS1DhR (Yonge & Thompson, 1976). Densely ciliated groove on stalk and rim of each gill-lamella catches and removes large particles of detritus that would clog gill (Fretter & Graham, 1994) 25Pu flic.kr/p/BGqt5A . Blood passes from viscera and foot via vessels through gaps in encircling pedal-retractor muscle 23Pu flic.kr/p/BGqwhs into gills for oxygenation, and thence into encircling efferent pallial vessel in mantle-skirt, which carries blood to left of nuchal cavity and through its roof to elongated heart behind left of cavity 52Pu flic.kr/p/BpVk1S for recirculation to head, foot and viscera (Fretter & Graham, 1994). On shells with thick porcellaneous interior layers, efferent pallial-vessel leaves a mark where it passes through gap in gills to enter nuchal cavity 1Pu flic.kr/p/BpzHx5 & 14Pu flic.kr/p/BpCkES . Breeding season varies geographically; June-September N.E. England, June-November S.W. England, and precise timing varies year to year (Fretter & Graham, 1994). External fertilization, so close proximity of sexes required for success. Sperm and ova shed into water column, ova individually. Eggs hatch as free trochophore larvae (stage passed within egg by most “less-primitive” spp.) in plankton before transforming to veligers and, after a short planktonic-life, settling on lower shore and assuming limpet form. Spat, when 1mm long, have eight radiating ridges; P. vulgata has five ridges on right, four on left. P. depressa has ten (Fretter & Graham, 1994). Some move to mid-tide level when shell-length 5mm.
Distribution and status
Mediterranean, Black Sea and North-east Atlantic from Morocco to Shetland and Bergen, Norway (Høisæter, 2009). Not in the colder waters of a) the Baltic b) North Sea from Stavanger to Le Havre and from Flamborough to Beachy Head c) north-east of Irish Sea from Kircudbright or Dumfries to Anglesey.
GBIF map www.gbif.org/species/5190390 ; Belgian and Dutch records are from flotsam (Fretter & Graham, 1994, p.464) and records on Macaronesian islands are misidentified P. aspera Röding, 1798 (“note” at www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=456570)
U.K. distribution map NBN species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0021056398
Acknowledgements
I gratefully acknowledge Dr Sebastian Payne for information, discussion and help during shore-work. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the author.
Links and references
Akşit, D. & Falakil Mutaf, B. 2011. The external morphology of the gill of Patella caerulea L. (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Turk. J. Zool. 35(4) 603-606. Tübitak. Turkey. PDF contains SEM images of gill.
www.google.co.uk/search?q=patella+gill+ciliated+groove&am...
Backeljau, T. 1986. Lijst van de recente mariene mollusken van Belgie Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Brussels.
PDF at www.marinespecies.org/imis.php?module=ref&refid=4414
Barber, A.H., Lu, D. & Pugno, N.M. 2015 Extreme strength observed in limpet teeth The Royal Society.
rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/105/20141326
Branch, G.M. 1981a. The biology of limpets. Oceangr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. learning.watfordboys.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=4730
Branch, G.M. 1981b. The biology of limpets. Oceangr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. www.google.co.uk/search?q=Patella+vulgata+blood+circulati...
Cohen, A.L. & Branch, G.M. 1992. Environmentally controlled variation in the structure and mineralogy of Patella granularis shells from the coast of southern Africa: implications for palaeotemperature assessments. Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 91: 49-57. www.whoi.edu/fileserver.do?id=163844&pt=2&p=36767
Forbes, E. & Hanley S. 1849-53. A history of the British mollusca and their shells. vol. 2 (1849), London, van Voorst. (As Patella athletica; PDF at archive.org/stream/historyofbritish02forb#page/424/mode/2up Use slide at base of page to select pp.425-429.)
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1962. British prosobranch molluscs. London, Ray Society.
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1994. British prosobranch molluscs. Revised and updated edition. London, Ray Society.
Gmelin, J.F. (1791) Vermes. In Gmelin J.F. (Ed.) Caroli a Linnaei Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Editio Decima Tertia, Aucta Reformata. Tome 1, Pars 6 (Vermes). G.E. Beer, Lipsiae [Leipzig], pp. 3021-3910., available online at www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/83098#5 Original description on p.692 of PDF .
Goshima, S., Ilano, A.S., Ito, A. & Nakao, S. 2002. Seasonal and tidal-height variations in body weight and radular length in Nodilittorina radiata (Eydoux & Souleyet, 1852). J. Mollus. Stud. 68: 197-203.
PDF at mollus.oxfordjournals.org/content/68/3/197.full.pdf+html
Graham, A. 1988. Prosobranch and pyramidellid gastropods. London.
Høisæter, T. 2009. Distribution of marine, benthic, shell bearing gastropods along the Norwegian coast. Fauna Norvegica 28: 5-106.
pdf at www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/fauna_norvegica/article/view/563
Jeffreys, J.G. 1862-69. British conchology. vol. 3 (1865). London, van Voorst. (As Patella vulgata var. 4 depressa, incorrectly attributed to Pennant.); Free PDF at archive.org/stream/britishconcholog03jeff#page/236/mode/2up . Use slide at base of page to select pp.237.
MacClintock, C. 1967. Shell structure of patelloid and bellerophontid gastropods (Mollusca). Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University. Bulletin 22. pdf at
www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=MacClintock%2C+C.+1967.+Sh....
215 pages, may take a few minutes to download. Contents on page v.(= p.6 of pdf). To find pages on pdf add 1 to Roman numerals, and add 11 to modern numerals.
Pennant, T. (1777). British Zoology, vol. IV. Crustacea. Mollusca. Testacea. London. i-viii, 1-154, pls. 1-93.,
Page 142 biodiversitylibrary.org/item/127011#page/168/mode/1up
Pl. 89 fig.146. biodiversitylibrary.org/item/127011#page/361/mode/1up
Sanna, D., Dedola, G. L., Lai, T., Curini-Galletti, M. & Casu, M. 2011. PCR-RFLP: A practical method for the identification of specimens of Patella ulyssiponensis s.l. (Gastropoda: Patellidae), Italian Journal of Zoology,
pdf at www.researchgate.net/publication/233126771_PCR-RFLP_A_pra...
Sá-Pinto, A., Branco,M., Harris, D.J. & Alexandrino, P. 2005. Phylogeny and phylogeography of the genus Patella based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 325: 95-110.
Sá-Pinto, A., Alexandrino, P. & Branco,M. 2007. High genetic differentiation with no evidence of hybridization between four limpet species (Patella spp.) revealed by allozyme loci. Scientia Marina 71(4): 801-810. Barcelona. pdf at www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/131981.pdf
Yonge, C.M. and Thompson, T.E. 1976. Living marine molluscs. London.
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140684
GLOSSARY
amphora – (on interior of limpet shell) Roman amphora-shaped area enclosed by scars of pedal-retractor muscle and anterior mantle-attachment.
anteroposterior – (of linear feature) aligned from anterior to posterior.
aperture – mouth of gastropod shell; outlet for head and foot.
apex - earliest formed part of a gastropod shell, the summit of the cone. (In this limpet-account restricted to the exterior of the shell, and “vertex” used for the interior.)
auct. - (abbreviation of “auctorum” = “of authors”) name, often of another valid species, used in error for this one by other author(s). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auctorum
cephalic – (adj.) of or on the head.
cilia – (pl.) microscopic linear extensions of membrane that move in rhythmic waves to create locomotion, or move particles and liquids e.g. inhalent water currents. (“cilium” singular). (Electron scanning microscope image at flic.kr/p/qQB5zj )
ciliary – (adj.) relating to or involving cilia.
coll. – in the collection of (named person or institution) (compare with legit).
conoid – shaped like a cone.
ctenidium – comb-like molluscan gill; usually an axis with a row of filaments either side.
ELWS – extreme low water spring tide (usually near March and September equinoxes).
epipodial - (adj.) of the epipodium (collar or circlet running round sides of foot of some gastropods).
epithelium – membranous covering of internal and external surfaces of animal's body, e.g. skin and lining of tubes and cavities.
head scar – term used by many British authors for patch of different shell-material, and often different colour, near vertex of interior of limpet shell; misnomer as the mobile head, free of any attachment to the shell or mantle-roof of the nuchal cavity cannot make a scar. A preferable term is “vertex patch”.
height – (of limpet) perpendicular distance from apex to plane of aperture-rim (best measured with callipers).
hyaline shield – transparent sheet of chitin at anterior of radula that rests on bolsters of odontophore; attachment point for retractor muscles of radula; helps guide food particles into mouth.
jaw - unarticulated chitinous structure that encloses inner lips of Patella spp. at sides and anterior.
legit – (abbreviation; leg.) collected/ found by (compare with coll.)
licker - cuticularized structure with plate-like ridges and deep transverse grooves at tip of radula of Patella spp.; retains and sweeps up food particles.
Macaronesia – Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands and Azores.
mantle – sheet of tissue covering visceral mass of molluscs. Secretes shell of shelled species, and forms part or all of dorsal body surface (notum) of those without shells. (See mantle skirt.)
mantle skirt – extension on gastropods of mantle proper as a flap roofing a cavity containing gills, genital and renal openings, anus etc. On limpets, skirt and cavity extend around periphery of animal.
MLWS - mean low water spring tide level (mean level reached by lowest low tides for a few days every fortnight; Laminaria or Coralline zone on rocky coasts).
nuchal – (adj.) of nape of the neck.
nuchal cavity – cavity roofed by mantle skirt that contains head of limpet; part of mantle cavity (remainder consists of pallial groove on each side of body).
ovoid – egg-shaped, (as a solid or in outline).
ovate – egg-shaped, (as a solid or in outline).
pallial groove band – shell material deposited on interior of shell by strip of black mantle roofing the pallial groove that contains the gills. On British Patella spp. it is often clouded-white.
pedal retractor muscle – strong muscle that retracts foot into shell of most gastropods, but on limpets is used to clamp shell to substrate, a.k.a. “foot muscle”.
porcellaneous – resembling vitreous glazed ceramic material.
retrograde - (of locomotion waves on foot) waves travel from anterior to posterior.
scar – mark on shell made by attachment point of muscle or other body part.
skirt shell layer - shell material deposited on interior of shell by mantle skirt. On British Patella spp. colourless when deposited, and clouded white, or transparent showing the colours of the outer layer. Crystalline structure causes short lines of blue iridescence parallel to the aperture rim on all four British species of Patella when the light is right.
tricuspid - (of tooth) having three points.
trochophore – spherical or pear-shaped larva that swims with aid of girdle of cilia. Stage preceding veliger, passed within gastropod egg in most spp. but free in plankton for patellid limpets, most Trochidae and Tricolia pullus.
unicuspid - (of tooth) having a single point.
veliger – shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which swims by beating cilia of a velum (bilobed flap).
vertex – angle at highest point on interior of limpet-shell. [Synonym of “apex”, chosen (by IFS) to help avoid confusion with the highest point, apex, on the exterior. In classical Latin “vertex” was used for the “pole of the heavens”, obviously only seen from below.]
vertex patch –layer of different shell-material, and often different colour, at vertex of interior of limpet shell. (See “head scar”.)
Weiwei-izms, edited by my cousin Larry Warsh
"Everything is Art.
Everything is politics"
Ai Weiwei is a Goy who is learning to speak his izms in Yiddish via my Yiddish Glossary for Goyim:
Yiddish Glossary for Goyim Pre-publication Edition.Great gift: www.ebay.com/itm/110983198179?ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3A...
==========================
YiddishByNoe_LATimes_10-18-92
L.A. Times "Palm Latitudes" section/L.A. Speak, P. 10:
A selection of Yiddish idioms that spice up the power language of Hollywood
By Noë Gold Illustration by Paul Corio
The LA TIMES MAGAZINE first published an excerpt from my
"Yiddish Glossary for Goyim"
or
The Power Schmoozer's Guide to Hollywood
… an underground literary sensation that was making the rounds in LA when I was the editor of a magazine called Movies USA. It consisted of a "Yiddishism," or phrase, with the pronunciation in parentheses, followed by a sentence using that phrase in the Hollywood vernacular. The LA Times used a handful of these, such as ...
schmutz (shmootz) dirt
"Hey, Arsenio, you got some schmutz on your lapel."
and this set piece from the book, which they chose to illustrate …
shlemazel (shleh-mah-zell) one who has no luck
"The definition of a shlemazel is a patron of a restaurant who has soup spilled on him..."
shlemiel (shleh-meel) one who is to be pitied; hopeless
"...and the shlemiel is the waiter who pours the soup on his customer."
see also "shmendrick" below:
"What's the difference between a Shlemazel, a Shlemiel and a Shmendrick?
A Shlemiel spills the soup.
A Shlemazel gets the soup spilled on him.
And a Shmendrick asks, "What kind of soup was it?"
shmendrick (sh'mehn-drick) just another forlorn guy
"You think this guy is a player, but I have it on good authority that he is just a bottom-feeding shmendrick."
30 pages with illustrations in perfect condition, this edition is very rare. Please don't hesitate to email if you have any inquiries regarding this item: noemedia@pacbell.net
Vanessa cardui is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan.
Description
For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.
See also: Cynthia (butterfly) § Distinguishing features
Wing scales.
Male and female. Upperside. Ground-colour reddish-ochreous, basal areas olivescent-ochreous-brown; cilia black, alternated with white, Forewing with an outwardly-oblique black irregular-shaped broken band crossing from middle of the cell to the disc above the submedian vein; the apical area from end of cell and the exterior border also black; before the apex is a short white outwardly-oblique streak and a curved row of four round spots, the second and third being small; a marginal pale lunular line with its upper portion most defined and whitish. Hind-wing with a blackish patch from the costal vein across end of cell, a partly confluent recurved discal band, a submarginal row of lunules, and then a marginal row of somewhat scutiform spots; between the discal band and submarginal lunules is a row of five round black spots, which in some examples show a pale and dark outer ring. Underside. Forewing brighter reddish-ochreous, the apical area and outer margin much paler, the apex being olivescent ochreous-brown; discal irregular band as above, subapical white streak, row of spots and marginal lunules distinct; base of wing and interspace before end of cell white. Hindwing transversely-marbled with olivescent ochreous-brown and speckled with black scales; crossed by basal and discal sinuous whitish or pale fascia and intersected by white veins; an outer-discal row of five ocelli, the upper one smallest and usually imperfect, the second and fifth the largest, the fourth with black centre speckled with blue and ringed with yellow, and the second and fifth also with an outer black ring; submarginal lunules purpurescent-grey, bordered by a whitish fascia; outer margin ochreous. Body olivescent ochreous-brown, abdomen with ochreous bands; palpi blackish above, white beneath; body beneath and legs greyish-white; antennae black above, tip and beneath reddish.
Distribution
V. cardui is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. In Australia, V. cardui has a limited range around Bunbury, Fremantle, and Rottnest Island. However, its close relative, the Australian painted lady (V. kershawi, sometimes considered a subspecies) ranges over half the continent. Other closely related species are the American painted lady (V. virginiensis) and the West Coast lady (V. annabella).
Migration
V. cardui occurs in any temperate zone, including mountains in the tropics. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates in spring, and sometimes again in autumn. It migrates from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Britain and Europe in May and June, occasionally reaching Iceland,[8] and from the Red Sea basin, via Israel and Cyprus, to Turkey in March and April. The occasional autumn migration made by V. cardui is likely for the inspection of resource changes; it consists of a round trip from Europe to Africa.
For decades, naturalists have debated whether the offspring of these immigrants ever make a southwards return migration. Research suggests that British painted ladies do undertake an autumn migration, making 14,500 km (9,000 mi) round trip from tropical Africa to the Arctic Circle in a series of steps by up to six successive generations. The Radar Entomology Unit at Rothamsted Research provided evidence that autumn migrations take place at high altitude, which explains why these migrations are seldom witnessed. In recent years, thanks to the activity of The Worldwide Painted Lady Migration citizen science project, led by the Barcelona-based Institute of Evolutionary Biology (Catalan: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva), the huge range of migration has begun to be revealed. For example, some butterflies migrated from Iceland to the Sahara desert, and even further south.
V. cardui is known for its distinct migratory behaviour. In California, they are usually seen flying from north to north-west. These migrations appear to be partially initiated by heavy winter rains in the desert where rainfall controls the growth of larval food plants. In March 2019, after heavy rain produced an abundance of vegetation in the deserts, Southern California saw these butterflies migrating by the millions across the state.
Similarly, heavier than usual rain during the 2018-2019 winter seems to have been the cause of the extraordinarily large migration observed in Israel at the end of March, estimated at a billion individual butterflies. Painted lady migration patterns are highly erratic and they do not migrate every year. Some evidence suggests that global climatic events, such as el Niño, may affect the migratory behaviour of the painted lady butterflies, causing large-scale migrations. The first noticeable wave of migration in eastern Ukraine was noted in the 20s of April 2019. From May 15, numbers began to grow and it was possible to observe hundreds of this species in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, including in the city streets of Kharkiv.
Based on experimental data, the painted lady's migration pattern in northern Europe apparently does not follow a strict north-west heading. The range of headings suggests that migrating butterflies may adjust their migration patterns in response to local topographical features and weather, such as strong wind patterns. Laboratory-raised autumn-generation painted lady butterflies were able to distinguish a southern orientation for a return migration path. According to the same laboratory-based study, when butterflies were isolated from the sun, they were unable to orient themselves in a specific direction, opposed to those that did have access to the sun. This suggests that V. cardui requires a direct view of the sky, implying the use of a solar compass to orient its migratory direction and maintain a straight flight path.
Mating behaviour in relation to migration
V. cardui displays a unique system of continuous mating, throughout all seasons, including the winter. This may be attributed to its migratory patterns, thus significantly affecting its mating behaviour. During European migrations, the butterflies immediately begin to mate and lay eggs upon arrival in the Mediterranean in the spring, starting in late May. In the United States, painted lady butterflies migrating towards the north experience poor mating conditions, and many butterflies have limited breeding capabilities. The "local adult generation" develops during this time, roughly from the middle of May through early June in conjunction with the butterfly progression throughout their flight.
During its migratory process, these painted lady butterflies start breeding, and reproduce entirely throughout their migration. Scientists have not been able to find evidence of their overwintering; this may be because they migrate to warmer locations to survive and reproduce. Female painted lady butterflies may suspend their flight temporarily when they are "ready to oviposit"; this allows them the opportunity to continually reproduce throughout their migrations. Because these butterflies are constantly migrating, male butterflies are thought to lack consistent territory. Instead of requiring territory to mate with females and developing evolutionary behaviour to defend this territory, the mating butterflies appear to establish a particular "time and place" in certain locations that they find to be suitable for reproduction. More specifically, they locate certain perches, hilltops, forest-meadow edges, or other landmarks where they will stay until, presumably, a female arrives to mate.
Equally important for the reproduction of the painted lady butterflies is the males' exhibition of polygynous mating behaviour, in which they often mate with more than one female. This is important for painted lady butterflies because the benefits may supersede the costs of polygyny since no permanent breeding ground is used. Upon mating, which typically occurs in the afternoon, female painted lady butterflies lay eggs one by one in their desired breeding locations. The variety of eclosion locations ultimately dictates the male painted lady behaviour.
Female painted lady butterflies have been observed to have a relatively "high biotic potential", meaning they each produce large numbers of offspring. This perpetual influx of reproduction may be a reason why these painted lady butterflies have propagated so successfully. One interesting aspect that scientists have observed is that these butterflies like to fly towards rain. Further studies have suggested that the large amounts of rainfall may somehow "activate more eggs or induce better larval development". Inhabited locations begin to observe a large influx of new generations of painted lady butterflies in the fall, particularly in September and October. Their reproductive success declines relatively throughout the winter, primarily through November. However, they still continue to reproduce—an aspect of butterfly behaviour that is quite unique. Scientists hypothesize that these extensive migratory patterns help the painted lady butterflies find suitable conditions for breeding, thus offering a possible reason as to why these butterflies mate continuously.
Oviposition
Adult butterflies feed on flower nectar and aphid honeydew. Females oviposit on plants with nectar immediately available for the adults even if it leads to high mortality of the larvae. This lack of discrimination indicates they do not take into account volatile chemicals released from potential host plants when searching for oviposition choices.
The availability of adult resources dictates a preference for specific areas of flowers. Flowers with more available nectar result in a larger number of eggs deposited on the plants. This reinforces the idea that the painted lady butterfly does not discriminate host plants and chooses mainly on the availability of adult food sources even if it increases the mortality rate of the offspring. The data also suggest that the painted lady butterfly favors quantity of offspring over quality.
Vision
Painted lady butterflies have a visual system that resembles that of a honey bee. Adult V. cardui eyes contain ultraviolet, blue, and green opsins. Unlike other butterflies, such as the monarch or red postman butterflies, painted ladies lack red receptors, which means that they are not sensitive to red light. Behavioral studies on the related species, Vanessa atalanta, have demonstrated that V. atalanta cannot distinguish yellow light from orange light or orange light from red light.
Roosting behaviour and territory
Groups of two to eight painted lady butterflies have been observed to fly in circles around each other for about one to five seconds before separating, symbolizing courtship. Groups of butterflies usually will not fly more than 4.5 m away from the starting point. To establish and defend their territories, adult males perch in the late afternoon in areas where females are most likely to appear. Once the male spots a female of the same species, he begins pursuit of her. If the foreign butterfly is a male, the original male will give chase, flying vertically for a few feet before returning to his perch.
V. cardui establishes territories within areas sheltered by hedgerows. Vanessa cardui tend to inhabit sunny, brightly lit, open environments and are often attracted to open areas of flowers and clovers. Adults spend time in small depressions in the ground on overcast days.
Host plants
Larvae feed on Asteraceae species, including Cirsium, Carduus, Centaurea, Arctium, Onopordum, Helianthus, and Artemisia.
The painted lady uses over 300 recorded host plants according to the HOSTS database.
Defence mechanisms
The main defence mechanisms of painted lady butterflies include flight and camouflage. The caterpillars hide in small silk nests on top of leaves from their main predators that include wasps, spiders, ants, and birds.
Human interaction
Vanessa cardui and other painted lady species are bred in schools for educational purposes and used for butterfly releases at hospices, memorial events, and weddings.
al quran
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT2MfjN3n6M&feature=related
(The Event) The Fifty-Sixth Surah of the Qur'aan
Pickthall Translation Glossary Window
1. When the event befalleth -
2. There is no denying that it will befall -
3. Abasing (some), exalting (others);
4. When the earth is shaken with a shock
5. And the hills are ground to powder
6. So that they become a scattered dust,
7. And ye will be three kinds:
8. (First) those on the right hand; what of those on the right hand ?
9. And (then) those on the left hand; what of those on the left hand ?
10. And the foremost in the race, the foremost in the race:
11. Those are they who will be brought nigh
12. In gardens of delight;
13. A multitude of those of old
14. And a few of those of later time.
15. On lined couches,
16. Reclining therein face to face.
17. There wait on them immortal youths
18. With bowls and ewers and a cup from a pure spring
19. Wherefrom they get no aching of the head nor any madness,
20. And fruit that they prefer
21. And flesh of fowls that they desire.
22. And (there are) fair ones with wide, lovely eyes,
23. Like unto hidden pearls,
24. Reward for what they used to do.
25. There hear they no vain speaking nor recrimination
26. (Naught) but the saying: Peace, (and again) Peace.
27. And those on the right hand; what of those on the right hand ?
28. Among thornless lote-trees
29. And clustered plantains,
30. And spreading shade,
31. And water gushing,
32. And fruit in plenty
33. Neither out of reach nor yet forbidden,
34. And raised couches;
35. Lo! We have created them a (new) creation
36. And made them virgins,
37. Lovers, friends,
38. For those on the right hand;
39. A multitude of those of old
40. And a multitude of those of later time.
41. And those on the left hand: What of those on the left hand ?
42. In scorching wind and scalding water
43. And shadow of black smoke,
44. Neither cool nor refreshing.
45. Lo! heretofore they were effete with luxury
46. And used to persist in the awful sin.
47. And they used to say: When we are dead and have become dust and bones, shall we then, forsooth, be raised again,
48. And also our forefathers ?
49. Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Lo! those of old and those of later time
50. Will all be brought together to the tryst of an appointed day.
51. Then lo! ye, the erring, the deniers,
52. Ye verily will eat of a tree called Zaqqum
53. And will fill your bellies therewith;
54. And thereon ye will drink of boiling water,
55. Drinking even as the camel drinketh.
56. This will be their welcome on the Day of Judgment.
57. We created you. Will ye then admit the truth ?
58. Have ye seen that which ye emit ?
59. Do ye create it or are We the Creator ?
60. We mete out death among you, and We are not to be outrun,
61. That We may transfigure you and make you what ye know not.
62. And verily ye know the first creation. Why, then, do ye not reflect ?
63. Have ye seen that which ye cultivate ?
64. Is it ye who foster it, or are We the Fosterer ?
65. If We willed, We verily could make it chaff, then would ye cease not to exclaim:
66. Lo! we are laden with debt!
67. Nay, but we are deprived!
68. Have ye observed the water which ye drink ?
69. Is it ye who shed it from the raincloud, or are We the Shedder ?
70. If We willed We verily could make it bitter. Why then, give ye not thanks ?
71. Have ye observed the fire which ye strike out;
72. Was it ye who made the tree thereof to grow, or were We the grower ?
73. We, even We, appointed it a memorial and a comfort for the dwellers in the wilderness.
74. Therefor (O Muhammad), praise the name of thy Lord, the Tremendous.
75. Nay, I swear by the places of the stars -
76. And lo! that verily is a tremendous oath, if ye but knew -
77. That (this) is indeed a noble Qur'an
78. In a Book kept hidden
79. Which none toucheth save the purified,
80. A revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.
81. Is it this Statement that ye scorn,
82. And make denial thereof your livelihood ?
83. Why, then, when (the soul) cometh up to the throat (of the dying)
84. And ye are at that moment looking
85. - And We are nearer unto him than ye are, but ye see not -
86. Why then, if ye are not in bondage (unto Us),
87. Do ye not force it back, if ye are truthful ?
88. Thus if he is of those brought nigh,
89. Then breath of life, and plenty, and a Garden of delight.
90. And if he is of those on the right hand,
91. Then (the greeting) "Peace be unto thee" from those on the right hand.
92. But if he is of the rejecters, the erring,
93. Then the welcome will be boiling water
94. And roasting at hell-fire.
95. Lo! this is certain truth.
96. Therefor (O Muhammad) praise the name of thy Lord, the Tremendous.
Adult with substantial, white, dorsal line on tail continuing as a broken line towards the hump (1) over the pericardium.
North-east Scotland, February 2020. © C. Rickard.
Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW
PDF available at www.researchgate.net/publication/361247558_Coryphella_ver...
Sets of OTHER SPECIES at: www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Coryphella verrucosa (M. Sars, 1829).
Including forms Coryphella verrucosa verrucosa (M. Sars, 1829) and Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis (G. Johnston, 1832).
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=139987
Synonyms: Eolidia verrucosa M. Sars, 1829; Eolis rufibranchialis G. Johnston, 1832; Coryphella rufibranchialis (G. Johnston, 1832); Coryphella rufibranchialis chocolata Balch, 1908: Coryphella pseudoverrucosa Martynov, Sanamyan & Korshunova, 2015; Flabellina verrucosa (M. Sars, 1829); Flabellina pseudoverrucosa (Martynov, Sanamyan & Korshunova, 2015).
GLOSSARY BELOW
Preface
The following description is primarily of Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis, the only form found in Britain except Shetland, where the Scandinavian form with radically different cerata, Coryphella verrucosa verrucosa, also occurs. The cerata of the two forms are described separately; other features are similar on both forms.
Description
The length, excluding appendages, may reach 25 mm, occasionally 35 mm. The body is translucent white, revealing white ovotestes when mature fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2nqKAan . The tail has an opaque white, substantial, dorsal line. On well grown adults the dorsal line may continue, often with breaks, as far the hump over the pericardium fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2nqLAnc , but often ( usually on Coryphella verrucosa verrucosa) the dorsum is obscured by cerata fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nqLPHR . The dorsal line often does not extend the full length of the tail on young specimens fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nqLPGt . On translucent, immature specimens, the rectum ending at the anus below the second group of cerata on the right, the pink jaw, the circum-oesophageal nerve ring bearing black internal eyes and the rhinophoral ganglia on nerve cords connected to the nerve ring may be discernible fig. 05 flic.kr/p/2nqKA2M .
The cerata on C. v, rufibranchialis are slender, almost linear, about as long as the width of the body, and held at varying angles, often across each other fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nqLPGt . They are arranged in five to seven groups of diagonal rows on each side of the body fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2nqKAan & fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2nqEmdW , rising from a notal ridge which does not continue between ceratal groups fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2nqKGcQ . The digestive gland within the cerata can be various shades of red fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2nqLAnc or red-brown fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2nqKAan . A narrow, opaque white, subterminal pigment band encircles the translucent white tip containing cnidosacs fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2nqKAan & fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2nqEmdW , and there may be a translucent gap between the band and the digestive gland.
The cerata on C. v. verrucosa are stout and cylindrical with a slightly narrower base and an obtuse tip fig. 07 flic.kr/p/2nqN8kd . They are barely as long as half the width of the body and are held erect and packed densely together (Sars, 1829) fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nqLPHR . They are attached along either side of the body, but it looks as if the whole back [apart from hump over pericardium] is occupied by them (Sars, 1829). They are so packed together that it is not possible to discern an arrangement of groups or lines (Sars, 1829). The digestive gland can be dark brown fig. 08 flic.kr/p/2nqEmco , rust-brown fig. 09 flic.kr/p/2nqLPCL or white fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nqLPHR . The whole tip is covered by a substantial cap of opaque white, except for a small, translucent apex which, when viewed end on, can reveal the brown digestive gland fig. 09 flic.kr/p/2nqLPCL as the ‘brown spot’ recorded by Sars (1829).
The wrinkled translucent whitish rhinophores fig. 10 flic.kr/p/2nqKzXt are slightly yellowish fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nqLPGt , sometimes pinkish, with an opaque white line along the distal third.
Translucent white oral tentacles arise from the upper surface of the head fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2nqEmdW . They have an opaque white line along the distal third fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nqLPGt . The prominent outer parts of the mouth occupy most of the head ventrally fig. 11 flic.kr/p/2nqN8gL . The internal pink jaw can sometimes be discerned in the translucent head as a pink band in lateral view fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2nqEmdW and a forward pointing ‘V’ in dorsal view fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nqLPGt .
The long, slender, translucent white foot is widest at the bilaminate anterior from whence it tapers gradually to a fine posterior point fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2nqKGcQ . It has propodial swellings which Thompson and Brown (1984) illustrate with a drawing and description of them as ‘propodial tentacles’ projecting ‘about half the width of the foot on either side’. This degree of extension has not been observed by I.F.S. and the greatest extension visible in images in this account is about 17% of body width in dorsal view fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nqLPGt . The drawing in Alder and Hancock (1844-1854) shows propodial tentacles 30% of body width, the image in Sars (1829) shows barely any swelling and some photos show swellings that can hardly be described as tentacles fig. 11 flic.kr/p/2nqN8gL .
Key identification features
Of Eolis rufibranchialis Alder and Hancock (1844-1854) wrote “This beautiful species has been much misunderstood. - - we suspect that he [G. Johnston, 1832] has included more than one species under the - - name - - and the same course has been followed by other authors.” Over a century later, uncertainty remains, especially if other similar species or forms from Norway and America are included.
Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis
1) Cerata as long as the width of the body, and held at varying angles, often across each other fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nqLPGt .
2) Cerata have a narrow, subterminal, opaque white ring fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2nqKAan & fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2nqEmdW .
3) Substantial white dorsal line on tail fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nqLPGt , sometimes a broken, white dorsal line on dorsum fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2nqLAnc .
4) Propodial expansions sometimes form small propodial tentacles.
5) Recorded from Scandinavia, Britain, Bretagne and also Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, Bering Sea and Sea of Japan (Thompson and Brown 1984).
Coryphella verrucosa verrucosa
1) Cerata barely as long as half the width of the body, and held erect and packed densely together fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nqLPHR & fig. 07 flic.kr/p/2nqN8kd .
2) Cerata have substantial cap of opaque white, except for a small, translucent apex fig. 09 flic.kr/p/2nqLPCL .
3) Continuous white dorsal line on tail. Dorsal body, apart from hump over pericardium, concealed by dense tubercles fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nqLPHR & fig. 08 flic.kr/p/2nqEmco .
4) Small propodial expansions.
5) Confined to Scandinavia and Shetland.
Intermediate between C. v. rufibranchialis and C. v. verrucosa
Occasionally forms intermediate between C. v. verrucosa and C. v. rufibranchialis have been reported in Scandinavia where the two forms are sympatric. Some may have been individuals re-growing cerata after damage.
Similar species
Coryphella gracilis (Alder and Hancock, 1844)
fig. 13 flic.kr/p/2nqKzV9 & fig. 14 flic.kr/p/2nqLPwi .
1) Cerata length about same as body width. Narrowed at base so sometimes elliptical, and less slender and flexible than cerata on C. v. rufibranchialis. Arise from a pronounced notal ridge containing the digestive gland.
2) Digestive gland in cerata rather granular, colour varies red to, often, brownish orange or green. Narrow subterminal opaque white ring on cerata.
3) Opaque white dorsal line on tail is sometimes fragmentary or missing. No line on rest of body. Matures at small size, so white ovotestes are visible when 8 mm long, at which size ovotestes are usually missing in juvenile C. verrucosa.
4) Distinct tapering propodial tentacles, length nearly as great as body width.
5) Scattered records around Britain and Ireland. Few or none in southern half of east coast England and north-east Irish Sea.
Coryphella browni Picton, 1980. fig. 15 flic.kr/p/2nqKG8M & fig. 16 flic.kr/p/2nqEm1B .
1) Cerata length up to twice the body width.
2) Broad white band on cerata distally, but no pigment on apex.
3) Interrupted white medial line, often reduced to a few dots or none, on tail. No line on rest of body.
4) Distinct tapering propodial tentacles, length about 25% of body width.
5) Scattered records around Britain and Ireland. Few or none in southern half of east coast England and north-east Irish Sea.
Carronella pellucida (Alder & Hancock, 1843). fig. 17 flic.kr/p/2nqKG62 & fig. 18 flic.kr/p/2nqKG5a .
1) Cerata length greater than width of body.
2) White pigment covers entire distal end of cerata.
3) Opaque white dorsal line on tail. No line on rest of body.
4) Long tapering propodial tentacles as long as, or longer than, width of body.
5) Scandinavia and Scotland; the few English records on NBN are probably misidentifications.
Other similar species
A similar, uncertain species, which occurs in Scotland, Scandinavia and possibly Iceland, feeds on the scyphistoma polyp phase of Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus, 1758)
fig. 19 flic.kr/p/2nqKG4y .
In Scandinavia the following similar species, some of which are poorly known, also need consideration: Berghia norvegica Odhner, 1939; Coryphella borealis Odhner, 1922 Coryphella nobilis A. E. Verrill, 1880 and Ziminella salmonacea (Couthouy, 1838). Some are illustrated at www.seawater.no/fauna/mollusca/norvegica.html . Some of these and other species need consideration in North America.
Habits and ecology
C. verrucosa lives on rocky substrate at LWS and sublittorally (C. v. verrucosa to 450 metres in Scandinavia) where strong currents favour its principle prey; Tubularia indivisa. Many other hydroid species are eaten, especially by juveniles. Like other nudibranchs, it is a simultaneous hermaphrodite. The spawn of both forms is a thin line arranged as a smooth spiral on flat rock fig. 09 flic.kr/p/2nqLPCL , or looped around hydroids. C. v. rufibranchialis breeds from April to June in Britain (Thompson & Brown, 1984). Veliger larvae drift for about ten days before metamorphosing.
Distribution and status
C. v. rufibranchialis, or species or forms resembling it, is recorded, often as C. verrucosa, from Scandinavia, Britain, Bretagne and also Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America fig. 20 flic.kr/p/2nqN86L , Bering Sea and Sea of Japan (Thompson and Brown 1984). It is fairly frequent sublittorally in Britain and Ireland, and sometimes at LWS. C. v. verrucosa is confined to Shetland fig. 21 flic.kr/p/2nqN84G and Scandinavia, where it is frequent and sympatric with C. v. rufibranchialis.
Appendix, taxonomic history
Coryphella verrucosa (as Eolidia verrucosa) was first described and illustrated fig. 07 flic.kr/p/2nqN8kd by Sars (1829) from specimens in Norway, where it is still frequently found fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nqLPHR .
Eolis rufibranchialis was first described by Johnston (1832) from a specimen in Berwick, England. He described the cerata as long, thus differing from the short stout cerata of Eolidia verrucosa Sars, 1829.
Alder and Hancock (1844-1854) described and illustrated Eolis rufibranchialis Johnston, 1832 more fully fig. 10 flic.kr/p/2nqKzXt .
Winckworth (1932) brought the two species together as Coryphella verrucosa (M. Sars, 1829) in Norway and subspecies Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis (Johnston, 1832).
Odhner (1939) did as Winckworth, using the names Coryphella verrucosa verrucosa and Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis for the forms, both of which occur in Norway. Odhner wrote “ Since Løyning (1922) has found, in living material, transitions between C. verrucosa M. Sars and C. rufibranchialis Johnston, and since I have observed the same in Trondheimsfjord, it is evident that the two forms cannot be upheld as distinct species. - - The older name is that of Sars and has to be accepted instead of the generally used one, quite as Winckworth (1932) has done: the two extreme forms are thus given the names Coryphella verrucosa verrucosa and Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis, as to the short or elongate form of the papillae [cerata].”
Thompson and Brown (1976) used the form names of Odhner, but they gave an image of Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis the label Coryphella verrucosa var. verrucosa, unaware that the latter is absent from Britain, except Shetland
Picton (1980) described a new species, Coryphella browni, which previously would probably have been identified as Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis.
Thompson and Brown (1984) omitted use of the variety category and combined both forms, along with other forms from Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, Arctic Russia and the Sea of Japan, under the species name Coryphella verrucosa (M. Sars, 1829). Their description is of, only, Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis, and they stated their disagreement with Odhner’s accurate description of the cerata of Coryphella verrucosa verrucosa, presumably, because they had not seen live specimens of it with its very different cerata.
None of the images of C. verrucosa from north-east America fig. 20 flic.kr/p/2nqN86L on iNaturalist (accessed May 2022) are of the C. v. verrucosa form. Some match the morphology of European C. v. rufibranchialis.
Eriksson et al. (2006) wrote, “The conspecificity of two forms of Flabellina verrucosa (M. Sars, 1829), one form with short and one with long cerata, was tested by sequencing the mitochondrial COI and the nuclear 5.8S-ITS2 genes. We could not establish any genetic differences between the two forms and conclude that they belong to the same species.” But, examination of other parts of the DNA sequence might show differences which correlate with the morphological differences (B. Picton, 2022. pers. comm., 1 June).
The sighting of intermediate forms and of mating between the two forms fig. 08 flic.kr/p/2nqEmco adds weight to regarding them as a single species, but such sightings are much rarer than would be expected if interbreeding were free and unhindered. Mating of different species of nudibranch with each other is occasionally observed and, as with them, it is unknown if mating of C. v. verrucosa with C. v. rufibranchialis produces viable offspring capable of reproduction.
World Register of Marine Species (accessed 26 May 2022) accepts as valid the names Coryphella verrucosa (M. Sars, 1829) and, as a subspecies, Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis (G. Johnston, 1832).
As the two forms are sympatric in Scandinavia and Shetland, yet retain their distinctness, there remains some uncertainty about their exact relationship. It would be a source for future interest if they were recorded separately.
Acknowledgements
For use of images I gratefully thank Billy Arthur, George Brown, Jeff Goddard, Asbjørn Hansen flic.kr/s/87eY , Nathan Jeffery, Tim Nicholson, Poul Rasmussen, Chris Rickard and Erling Svensen. I thank Simon Taylor for specimens. For valuable advice and help with literature I thank Bernard Picton and Miquel Pontes.
References and links
Alder, J. & Hancock, A. 1845-1855. A monograph of the British nudibranchiate mollusca. London, Ray Society. Family 3, plate 14. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131598#page/338/mode/1up
Balch, F. N. 1909. A spring collecting trip. Notes on New England nudibranchs II. The Nautilus. 23(3): 33-38., [Original description of Coryphella rufibranchialis var. chocolata Balch, 1909]
p 35-36 www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5314618
page(s): 35-36, 38
Eriksson, R., Nuygren, A. & Sundberg, P. 2006. Genetic evidence of phenotypic polymorphism in the aeolid nudibranch Flabellina verrucosa (M. Sars, 1829) (Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia). Organisms, Diversity and Evolution 6:1, 71-76
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439609205000772
iNaturalist, Observations of Coryphella verrucosa. (accessed 25 May 2022) www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=633193
Johnston, G. 1832. Illustrations in British zoology London Mag. nat. His. 5: 428-429.
www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/19519#page/464/mode/1up
Korshunova, T., Martynov, A., Bakken, T., Evertsen, J., Fletcher, K., Mudianta, W.I., Saito, H., Lundin, K., Schrödl, M. and Picton B. 2017. Polyphyly of the traditional family Flabellinidae affects a major group of Nudibranchia: aeolidacean taxonomic reassessment with descriptions of several new families, genera, and species (Mollusca, Gastropoda). ZooKeys 717: 1–139. doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.717.21885
Løyning, P. 1922. Nudibranch faunaen i Drøbaksundet I. Fam. Aeolididae, Skrifter utgrit av det Norske Vidensk. Akad. i Oslo
Odhner, N.H. 1922. Norwegian opisthobranchiate mollusca in the collection of the Zoologial Museum of Kristiana. Nyt. Mag. Naturv. 60: 1-47 [Coryphella rufibranchialis p30] www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109307#page/38/mode/1up
Odhner, N.H. 1939. Opisthobranchiate Mollusca from the western and northern coasts of Norway. Det Kgl. Norske Videnskabers Selskabs Skrifter 1: 1-92.
Sars, M. 1829. Bidrag til söedyrenes naturhistorie. 1: 9-12 & Plate 2 figs. 1-4 Bergen.
gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN612886522?tify=
Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. 1976. British opisthobranch molluscs. London, Academic Press.
Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. 1984. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs 2. London, Ray Society.
Winckworth, R. 1932. The British marine mollusca. J. Conch. Lond. 19: 211-252.
Picton, B. E. (1980). A new species of Coryphella (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) from the British Isles. Irish Naturalists' Journal. 20: 15-19.
Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. 1984. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs 2. London, Ray Society.
Glossary
cerata = (sing. ceras) lobes on dorsum of aeolids and some other seaslugs.
circum-oesophageal nerve ring = ganglia-bearing nerve cord which encircles the oesophagus.
cnidocytes = explosive stinging cells of Cnidaria. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidocyte
cnidosac = storage capsule at tips of cerata of Aeolidiidae, but not Dotidae, for ingested unexploded cnidocytes.
digestive gland = large organ in gastropods which acts like the liver and pancreas in mammals to absorb food.
distal = away from centre of body or from point of attachment.
ganglia = (sing. ganglion) knots on a nerve cord containing sensory cell bodies that conduct impulses to innervate organs of the body.
lamellae = small plates on rhinophores.
LWS = low water spring tide, and level it falls to; two periods of a few days each month when tide falls lowest.
notal = (adj.) of the back.
notal ridge = ridge on dorsal surface.
notum = (of seaslugs) the dorsal surface.
ovotestis = (pl. ovotestes) hermaphrodite organ serving as both ovary and testis.
pericardium = sac containing heart, sometimes visible as a raised mound behind rhinophores in aeolid sea slugs.
propodial tentacles = tentacular, lateral extensions on anterior of the foot.
propodium = anterior portion of gastropod foot. (adj. propodial).
rhinophores = chemo-receptor tentacles on top of head of nudibranch.
veliger = shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which moves by action of cilia on a velum (bilobed flap). Stage may be passed in plankton or within liquid-filled egg-capsule.
Fohat is a term of unknown origin, although H. P. Blavatsky claims it comes from the Tibetan language. According to her it is "one of the most, if not the most important character in esoteric Cosmogony". Maybe because of this, it can be found in many forms. As Mme. Blavatsky said:
Fohat is a generic term and used in many senses. He is the light (Daiviprakriti) of all the three logoi—the personified symbols of the three spiritual stages of Evolution. Fohat is the aggregate of all the spiritual creative ideations above, and of all the electro-dynamic and creative forces below, in Heaven and on Earth.
Fohat is "the animating principle electrifying every atom into life." During the process of manifestation it is the cosmic energy which produces the differentiation of primordial cosmic matter to form the different planes. In the manifested Universe, Fohat is the link between spirit and matter, subject and object.A term and concept which appears throughout “The Secret Doctrine” by H.P. Blavatsky – and especially in the first volume titled “Cosmogenesis” – is FOHAT.
What is this mysterious yet vitally important thing called Fohat which happens to be “the key in Occultism which opens and unriddles the multiform symbols and respective allegories in the so-called mythology of every nation”?
The word itself has been identified as ’phro-wa (verb form) and spros-pa (noun form) in Tibetan transliteration. In the Eastern Esoteric Science taught in Theosophy, Fohat is always spoken of in terms of cosmic or universal electricity, vitality, energy, and life force. Just as every living human being is animated, vitalised, and held together by the principle of Prana within them, as explained further in the article The Sevenfold Nature of Man, so the universe itself is animated, vitalised, and powered from within by Prana on the macrocosmic level, i.e. Universal Prana…and this is Fohat.
HPB states that it is “the active force in Universal Life” and “the personified electric vital power, the transcendental binding Unity of all Cosmic Energies, on the unseen as on the manifested planes, the action of which resembles – on an immense scale – that of a living Force created by WILL, in those phenomena where the seemingly subjective acts on the seemingly objective and propels it to action.”
If we go to HPB’s “Theosophical Glossary” (a valuable book for all students of the Philosophy) and turn to the entry for “Fohat” we find it described and defined as –
“…the active (male) potency of the Shakti (female reproductive power) in nature. The essence of cosmic electricity. An occult Tibetan term for Daiviprakriti, primordial light: and in the universe of manifestation the ever-present electrical energy and ceaseless destructive and formative power. Esoterically, it is the same, Fohat being the universal propelling Vital Force, at once the propeller and the resultant.” (bold added for emphasis in this article)
If we then turn to the entry for “Daiviprakriti” we find this: “Primordial, homogeneous light, called by some Indian Occultists “the Light of the Logos”; when differentiated this light becomes FOHAT.”
One of the Indian occultists (i.e. esotericists) we know of who used the term “Daiviprakriti” in this way was T. Subba Row, Madame Blavatsky’s highly gifted and erudite friend and associate during the time she lived in India in the 1880s. He was known to have been an initiated disciple of the Master M., who was also the Guru of HPB herself, and the nature and content of many of his writings indicate a close acquaintance with the Secret Doctrine itself, the Esoteric Doctrine preserved, guarded, and taught by the Masters and Adepts.
A few so-called scholars and academic researchers in today’s Theosophical world have asserted in confident – if not perhaps conceited – tones that no such term as “Daiviprakriti” actually exists and that it therefore must have been either an invention of HPB and T. Subba Row or a mistaken term used by them in ignorance. One such scholar has also informed Theosophists that the Sanskrit term “Mulaprakriti,” which is used frequently by HPB and Subba Row and said by them to be a technical term used in the Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism, is in fact never used at all in Vedanta or by any Vedantins and that thus they are again mistaken.
It would not be out of place here to mention that these individuals are themselves mistaken on both grounds. There are plenty of Hindus who are familiar with the term “Daiviprakriti,” albeit generally spelling it as “Deviprakriti,” which is pronounced in exactly the same way.
In his article “Suddha Dharma Mandalam,” Raghavendra Raghu writes of “Bhagavan Narayana [i.e. the Universal Logos in Theosophical terminology], abiding in his own form, made up of brilliant material particles of what is known as “DeviPrakriti,” in the Uttara-Badari region of the Himalayas.”
The term is used particularly amongst certain sects and groups of Vaishnavas, devotees of Vishnu, just as the term “Mulaprakriti” is used freely by all types of Vedantins, followers of both the Advaita and Vishistadvaita philosophies included. It would certainly have been a surprise to the late Swami Sivananda – a famous Advaitee still revered today all across India as one of the greatest scholars, experts, and teachers of Vedanta – to be informed by our self-styled scholars that he had been mistaken and ignorant all his life in quite frequently speaking of Mulaprakriti in his writings.
But with that, and with Madame Blavatsky vindicated yet again of yet another false charge, we will let the matter drop and go back to Fohat.
Whenever a new universal life cycle, or Maha-Manvantara, begins, the ONE Absolute Infinite Divine Principle (most frequently referred to as Parabrahm or Parabrahman in Theosophy) radiates forth from Itself the Logos, which is the Living Universe itself. But the universe doesn’t just appear full and complete all at once. It is an extremely gradual and meticulous process of evolution, from universals to particulars, from the macrocosmic level down to the microcosmic level.
The way this all comes about is with the help and assistance of Fohat, which is the direct manifestation or emanation of the Universal Logos itself. (See Understanding the Logos) The Logos is the all-ensouling Light and Life of the Universe. The way the body of the universe – and everything in it – is brought into existence, enlivened, vitalised, and sustained, is by the work of Fohat, the nature and activity of which can only really be described as Universal Electricity.
“From the purely occult and Cosmical” perspective, writes HPB, Fohat is “the “Son of the Son,” the androgynous energy resulting from this “Light of the Logos,” and which manifests in the plane of the objective Universe as the hidden, as much as the revealed, Electricity – which is LIFE.”
Fohat is described as “the Son of the Son” because it is the direct offspring, so to speak, of the Logos, which is itself the direct radiation from the Absolute. In his “Notes on the Bhagavad Gita,” T. Subba Row speaks of Fohat as being “the one instrument with which the Logos works.”
This is further expanded upon throughout “The Secret Doctrine” with such explanations as, “Fohat, running along the Seven Principles of Akasha, acts upon manifested substance or the One Element … and by differentiating it into various centres of Energy, sets in motion the law of Cosmic Evolution, which, in obedience to the Ideation of the Universal Mind, brings into existence all the various states of being in the manifested Solar System” and the statement that in the objective or manifested universe Fohat “is that Occult, electric, vital power, which, under the Will of the Creative Logos, unites and brings together all forms, giving them the first impulse which becomes in time law.”
Also –
* “When the “Divine Son” breaks forth, then Fohat becomes the propelling force, the active Power which causes the ONE to become TWO and THREE – on the Cosmic plane of manifestation. The triple One differentiates into the many, and then Fohat is transformed into that force which brings together the elemental atoms and makes them aggregate and combine.”
* “In the manifested Universe, there is “that” which links spirit to matter, subject to object. This something, at present unknown to Western speculation, is called by the occultists Fohat.”
* “It is the “bridge” by which the “Ideas” existing in the “Divine Thought” are impressed on Cosmic substance as the “laws of Nature.” Fohat is thus the dynamic energy of Cosmic Ideation; or, regarded from the other side, it is the intelligent medium, the guiding power of all manifestation, the “Thought Divine” transmitted and made manifest through the Dhyan Chohans, the Architects of the visible World.”
* “Fohat, in its various manifestations, is the mysterious link between Mind and Matter, the animating principle electrifying every atom into life.”The attraction or charge between the sky and the earth intensifies towards an irresistible point of tension and the coils that develop upwards connect with those that descend: now Fohat breaks out and the violet is transformed into the flaming blue and white flash, to which we are accustomed and the voltage difference between the sky and the earth is neutralized.Fohat's invocation/evocation rite is well underway as well as the formation of an antahkarana between heaven and earth.
From a geographical perspective, it is interesting to learn from “The Secret Doctrine” that the work of Fohat as regards our own planet is closely linked – via “his four fiery (electro-positive) Sons” with the Equator, the Ecliptic, and the climates of the two Tropics, i.e. the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Also, the North Pole and South Pole – “the two ends of the Egg of Matter” and also referred to esoterically as the head and the feet of Mother Earth – “are said to be the store-houses, the receptacles and liberators, at the same time, of Cosmic and terrestrial Vitality (Electricity); from the surplus of which the Earth, had it not been for these two natural “safety-valves,” would have been rent to pieces long ago.”
We are also told that the phenomenon of the Northern Lights, called Aurora Borealis, as well as the Aurora Australis or Southern Lights, are intimately connected with Fohat.
It would seem strange to think of or look upon something as presumably impersonal as Universal Electricity as a type of Entity, yet “Fohat is not only the living Symbol and Container of that Force, but is looked upon by the Occultists as an Entity – the forces he acts upon being cosmic, human and terrestrial, and exercising their influence on all those planes respectively … the primordial Electric Entity – for the Eastern Occultists insist that Electricity is an Entity – electrifies into life, and separates primordial stuff or pregenetic matter into atoms, themselves the source of all life and consciousness.”
The mystery deepens when we are reminded that “It is through Fohat that the ideas of the Universal Mind are impressed upon matter,” only to then read in the next sentence that “Some faint idea of the nature of Fohat may be gathered from the appellation “Cosmic Electricity” sometimes applied to it; but to the commonly known properties of electricity must, in this case, be added others, including intelligence. It is of interest to note that modern science has come to the conclusion, that all cerebration and brain-activity are attended by electrical phenomena.”
Then further on we discover that “Each world has its Fohat, who is omnipresent in his own sphere of action. But there are as many Fohats as there are worlds, each varying in power and degree of manifestations. The individual Fohats make one Universal, Collective Fohat – the aspect-Entity of the one absolute Non-Entity, which is absolute Be-Ness, “SAT.” Millions and billions of worlds are produced at every Manvantara – it is said. Therefore there must be many Fohats, whom we consider as conscious and intelligent Forces. This, no doubt, to the disgust of scientific minds.”
It must be remembered though that although being imbued with and expressing sufficient intelligence and power as to be considered an Entity, Fohat is most definitely not some type of anthropomorphic deity or personal spiritual being.
“While science speaks of its evolution through brute matter, blind force, and senseless motion, the Occultists point to intelligent LAW and sentient LIFE, and add that Fohat is the guiding Spirit of all this. Yet he is no personal god at all, but the emanation of those other Powers behind him whom the Christians call the “Messengers” of their God, and we, the “… primordial Sons of Life and Light”.”
We said earlier that Fohat is the direct manifestation or resultant emanation of the one Universal Logos. Then how can it also be said that Fohat is the emanation of Powers (plural) who are the “primordial Sons of Life and Light”?
The answer is this: the one Logos is in fact the unified and collective aggregate of Seven Primordial Rays, called “the Primordial Seven” in the Stanzas of Dzyan on which the teaching in “The Secret Doctrine” is based. This is symbolised as the Central Spiritual Sun being comprised of Seven Rays which radiate forth from it in order to make the universe what it is. The Primordial Seven are also called the seven Dhyani Buddhas or seven chief Dhyan Chohans. Admittedly such things are almost entirely beyond our proper comprehension but if we can at least grasp the basics of them at a simple level we may be able to eventually get somewhere with the help of our applied spiritual intuition and elevated thought.
This explains why in the second volume (“Anthropogenesis”) of “The Secret Doctrine” we read of the fact that the Logos “acts only mediately through FOHAT, or Dhyan-Chohanic energy” and of “the universal guiding FOHAT, rich with the Divine and Dhyan-Chohanic thought.”
The fifth Stanza from the Secret Book of Dzyan in the first volume of “The Secret Doctrine” is almost entirely about Fohat. Following on from the fourth Stanza which is titled “The Septenary Hierarchies” it is in its turn titled “Fohat: The Child of the Septenary Hierarchies.” We quote its first five shlokas or verses below. Some of it will now make sense in light of what we’ve already looked at in this article and the understanding of the rest of it can be gained from personally reading and studying the book, which is always the best way of acquiring knowledge and understanding, rather than depending on others.
1. THE PRIMORDIAL SEVEN, THE FIRST SEVEN BREATHS OF THE DRAGON OF WISDOM, PRODUCE IN THEIR TURN FROM THEIR HOLY CIRCUMGYRATING BREATHS THE FIERY WHIRLWIND.
2. THEY MAKE OF HIM THE MESSENGER OF THEIR WILL. THE DZYU BECOMES FOHAT, THE SWIFT SON OF THE DIVINE SONS WHOSE SONS ARE THE LIPIKA, RUNS CIRCULAR ERRANDS. FOHAT IS THE STEED AND THE THOUGHT IS THE RIDER. HE PASSES LIKE LIGHTNING THROUGH THE FIERY CLOUDS; TAKES THREE, AND FIVE, AND SEVEN STRIDES THROUGH THE SEVEN REGIONS ABOVE, AND THE SEVEN BELOW. HE LIFTS HIS VOICE, AND CALLS THE INNUMERABLE SPARKS, AND JOINS THEM.
3. HE IS THEIR GUIDING SPIRIT AND LEADER. WHEN HE COMMENCES WORK, HE SEPARATES THE SPARKS OF THE LOWER KINGDOM THAT FLOAT AND THRILL WITH JOY IN THEIR RADIANT DWELLNGS, AND FORMS THEREWITH THE GERMS OF WHEELS. HE PLACES THEM IN THE SIX DIRECTIONS OF SPACE, AND ONE IN THE MIDDLE – THE CENTRAL WHEEL.
4. FOHAT TRACES SPIRAL LINES TO UNITE THE SIXTH TO THE SEVENTH – THE CROWN; AN ARMY OF THE SONS OF LIGHT STANDS AT EACH ANGLE, AND THE LIPIKA IN THE MIDDLE WHEEL. THEY SAY: THIS IS GOOD, THE FIRST DIVINE WORLD IS READY, THE FIRST IS NOW THE SECOND. THEN THE “DIVINE ARUPA” REFLECTS ITSELF IN CHHAYA LOKA, THE FIRST GARMENT OF THE ANUPADAKA.
5. FOHAT TAKES FIVE STRIDES AND BUILDS A WINGED WHEEL AT EACH CORNER OF THE SQUARE, FOR THE FOUR HOLY ONES AND THEIR ARMIES.
One thing which is always important to bear in mind, especially for those of us who have grown up with or acquired the habit of interpreting spiritual texts and phrases literally is that Eastern spiritual teachings are abundant with symbolic, allegorical, and figurative terms and illustrations. HPB always emphasised that we should be careful not to mistake the word for the thing. Thus the “Dragon of Wisdom” in no way means any type of actual dragon but rather is a special symbolic term for the Universal Logos. Similarly, Fohat (whose initial activity is akin to a “fiery whirlwind”) “lifting his voice” does not refer to Fohat as some type of anthropomorphic entity shouting out a command but has reference to the metaphysical power of sound in the construction of the universe…and so on.
Further esoteric terminology in “The Secret Doctrine” speaks of the Seven Brothers of Fohat who are also at the same time the Seven Sons of Fohat.
“Fohat, the constructive Force of Cosmic Electricity, is said, metaphorically to have sprung like Rudra from Brahma “from the brain of the Father and the bosom of the Mother,” and then to have metamorphosed himself into a male and a female, i.e., polarity, into positive and negative electricity,” says HPB, continuing, “He has seven sons who are his brothers; and Fohat is forced to be born time after time whenever any two of his son-brothers indulge in too close contact – whether an embrace or a fight.”
She adds that “The Seven “Sons-brothers,” however, represent and personify the seven forms of Cosmic magnetism called in practical Occultism the “Seven Radicals,” whose co-operative and active progeny are, among other energies, Electricity, Magnetism, Sound, Light, Heat, Cohesion, etc.”
Just as the One Logos is actually the unified and collective aggregate of the Seven Primordial Rays, so Fohat is itself the unified and collective aggregate of the Seven Radicals. Thus in their noumenal state they are his Brothers and in their phenomenal state they are his Sons. The Seven Brothers are cosmic electricity as CAUSE; the Seven Sons are cosmic electricity as EFFECT.
Although the Tibetan term “Fohat” is the term used by the Masters and H.P. Blavatsky, nevertheless Fohat is seemingly nothing other than Kundalini.
HPB describes Kundalini as being “a fiery electro-spiritual force,” the “Fohatic power” which underlies everything visible and invisible. In “The Voice of the Silence” it is called “The World’s Mother,” the Mother of the World and Mother of the Universe. T. Subba Row says of Kundalini that it is “the power or Force which moves in a curved path. It is the Universal Life-Principle manifesting everywhere in nature. This force includes the two great forces of attraction and repulsion. Electricity and magnetism are but manifestations of it.”
HPB says of Fohat that “The ancients represented it by a serpent, for “Fohat hisses as he glides hither and thither” (in zigzags).” And by what illustrative symbol has Kundalini always been represented? A serpent.
Kundalini is the active power of the Universal Logos. It is the Mother of the manifested Universe. It is omnipresent universal Life, universal Fire, universal Electricity. Kundalini, it seems, is Fohat and Fohat is Kundalini.
It should be added here, however, that the practice known as Kundalini Yoga is potentially highly dangerous on all levels – physical, psychological, and spiritual – and that Theosophy always warns people against trying to do things to or with the power of the Kundalini within themselves. The Masters have stated emphatically that this Force can kill just as easily as it can create.
There is no need whatsoever for us to be messing about with our Kundalini and those who do so are almost always doing so with selfish motives such as attempting to acquire psychic or spiritual powers or to be able to have amazing spiritual experiences or sensations of bliss for themselves. Desire is the cause of all suffering, as the Lord Buddha always taught, and the desire for spiritual experiences is just as detrimental to the soul as the desire for sensual and carnal experiences. Even mainstream psychiatrists are now beginning to note the increasing number of people becoming seriously mentally ill, often with schizophrenia or similar conditions, as a result of trying to awaken their Kundalini.
It is almost impossible to adequately express in any way such lofty spiritual concepts in words and language which is no doubt one reason why many esoteric texts use symbols instead. “The Secret Doctrine” says far more about Fohat than can be expressed in an article like this but it is hoped that this attempt to provide a general overview of the topic has been interesting, inspiring, and thought provoking for you who have read it.
“Manvantaric impulse commences with the re-awakening of Cosmic Ideation (the “Universal Mind”) concurrently with, and parallel to the primary emergence of Cosmic Substance – the latter being the manvantaric vehicle of the former – from its undifferentiated pralayic state. Then, absolute wisdom mirrors itself in its Ideation; which, by a transcendental process, superior to and incomprehensible by human Consciousness, results in Cosmic Energy (Fohat). Thrilling through the bosom of inert Substance, Fohat impels it to activity, and guides its primary differentiations on all the Seven planes of Cosmic Consciousness … Aryan antiquity called them the Seven Prakriti, or Natures, serving, severally, as the relatively homogeneous basis, which in the course of the increasing heterogeneity (in the evolution of the Universe) differentiate into the marvellous complexity presented by phenomena on the planes of perception.” – H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine
blavatskytheosophy.com/fohat-the-cosmic-electricity/
Fohat (Tib.) A term used to represent the active (male) potency of the Sakti (female reproductive power) in nature. The essence of cosmic electricity. An occult Tibetan term for Daiviprakriti, primordial light: and in the universe of manifestation the ever-present electrical energy and ceaseless destructive and formative power. Esoterically, it is the same, Fohat being the universal propelling Vital Force, at once the propeller and the resultant
At the beginning of a manvantara the Wisdom-aspect of the Absolute radiates the Pre-Cosmic Ideation, which manifests as the Cosmic Ideation. The latter eventually gives rise to Fohat. In Mme. Blavatsky's words:
Absolute wisdom mirrors itself in its Ideation; which, by a transcendental process, superior to and incomprehensible by human Consciousness, results in Cosmic Energy (Fohat).[6]
Fohat is the active power through which the plan for the new universe present in the Logos is manifested objectively, thus providing a bridge between the subjective spirit and the objective matter:
But just as the opposite poles of subject and object, spirit and matter, are but aspects of the One Unity in which they are synthesized, so, in the manifested Universe, there is “that” which links spirit to matter, subject to object.
This something, at present unknown to Western speculation, is called by the occultists Fohat. It is the “bridge” by which the “Ideas” existing in the “Divine Thought” are impressed on Cosmic substance as the “laws of Nature”. Fohat is thus the dynamic energy of Cosmic Ideation; or, regarded from the other side, it is the intelligent medium, the guiding power of all manifestation, the “Thought Divine” transmitted and made manifest through the Dhyan Chohans, the Architects of the visible World. . . . Fohat, in its various manifestations, is the mysterious link between Mind and Matter, the animating principle electrifying every atom into life.
It is also the cause for the differentiation of the primordial matter into the seven planes
Thrilling through the bosom of inert Substance, Fohat impels it to activity, and guides its primary differentiations on all the Seven planes of Cosmic Consciousness.
In the phenomenal and Cosmic World, he is that Occult, electric, vital power, which, under the Will of the Creative Logos, brings together the elemental atoms and makes them aggregate and combine. Fohat, running along the seven principles of AKASA, acts upon manifested substance or the One Element and by differentiating it into various centres of Energy, sets in motion the law of Cosmic Evolution, which, in obedience to the Ideation of the Universal Mind, brings into existence all the various states of being in the manifested Solar System.
Fohat manifests in different ways on each plane:
On the earthly plane his influence is felt in the magnetic and active force generated by the strong desire of the magnetizer. On the Cosmic, it is present in the constructive power that carries out, in the formation of things -- from the planetary system down to the glow-worm and simple daisy -- the plan in the mind of nature, or in the Divine Thought, with regard to the development and growth of that special thing. He is, metaphysically, the objectivised thought of the gods; the "Word made flesh," on a lower scale, and the messenger of Cosmic and human ideations: the active force in Universal Life. In his secondary aspect, Fohat is the Solar Energy, the electric vital fluid,* and the preserving fourth principle, the animal Soul of Nature, so to say, or -- Electricity.
Since Fohat acts as the power of attraction between atoms, it is seen as the Divine Love:
Fohat, in his capacity of DIVINE LOVE (Eros), the electric Power of affinity and sympathy, is shown allegorically as trying to bring the pure Spirit, the Ray inseparable from the ONE absolute, into union with the Soul, the two constituting in Man the MONAD, and in Nature the first link between the ever unconditioned and the manifested.
Interestingly, Fohat is seen as an entity (without implying anthropomorphism). Mme. Blavatsky wrote:
Fohat, then, is the personified electric vital power, the transcendental binding Unity of all Cosmic Energies, on the unseen as on the manifested planes, the action of which resembles --on an immense scale-- that of a living Force created by WILL, in those phenomena where the seemingly subjective acts on the seemingly objective and propels it to action. Fohat is not only the living Symbol and Container of that Force, but is looked upon by the Occultists as an Entity -- the forces he acts upon being cosmic, human and terrestrial, and exercising their influence on all those planes respectively.
According to Mme. Blavatsky the swastika is the symbol for the activity of Fohat:
The "secret formula" constituting free energy, the "Living Fire", was named under the code name of "Vril" (name probably derived from virile Latin) by the English novelist and philosopher Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803/1873) * in his novel The Coming Race ("The Coming Race") published in 1871.
Few world-symbols are more pregnant with real occult meaning than the Swastica. It is the emblem of the activity of Fohat, of the continual revolution of the “wheels”, and of the Four Elements, the “Sacred Four”. One initiated into the mysteries of the meaning of the Swastica, say the Commentaries, “can trace on it, with mathematical precision, the evolution of Kosmos and the whole period of Sandhya.” Also “the relation of the Seen to the Unseen”, and “the first procreation of man and species”
See below for the Swing Stuff glossary printed on the inside front cover of this notepad.
--------
For similar notepads, see Bond Clothes, Harrisburg, Pa., and Bond Clothes, Reading, Pa.
--------
Front cover: "Student Lane, the new style center for young men. Bond Clothes, Chestnut at 16th, Philadelphia."
Back cover: "Do you want that 'varsity look'? You'll like the mannish atmosphere at Student Lane--and the vigorous college styles featured here. And your folks will applaud Student Lane's wear-tested woolens--at these two low prices. $20, $24, two trouser suits and overcoats (sizes 15 to 22)."
by Kathleen Meyer. 2nd edition. USA, Ten Speed Press, 1994.
i'd long heard about this book & was initially pleased to finally find a copy of it. the format & cover gave off a good whiff, though, of what was to be found within.
want some helpful information or at least outside confirmations of yr own ideas on how to most usefully deal with yr various wastes?
you won't find any here.
there are 3 strains to this book:
1) a logorrhœa of cutesy circumlocutions for the group of words based on the root "shit" (with handy glossary up the rear), along with inspirationally insipid anal anecdotery;
2) enough environmental scare stories to bung yr sphincter for the duration of any outdoor trek;
3) endless advertisements for plastic products so you can carry all yr shit around with you.
really, the third point here is the heart of the book, several lists of pricey products of varying sophistication that enable you to not have to deal with yr shit atall other than to make space in yr bag for it so it can go en masse into the comforting toilet of yr own home at yr later convenience. they're pretty much all made outta plastic. i wonder how heavy a month or 2's worth of shit gets.
interestingly, Bradford Angier's otherwise excellent How To Stay Alive In The Woods doesn't even consider it an issue worth bothering with, which i can't quite agree with.
for the record, i've found 2 good ways to deal with shit, depending on yr length of stay anywhere.
protracted campings: select an open-but-contained composting site in a bit of a dirt divot away from any water where all yr organic waste can go, including yr shit with liberal sprinklings of further dirt & dead grasses/leaves &, most importantly, ash from yr fireplace & always pee on the pile. between the wood ash & the urine (& throwing a handful or 1o of worms on there won't hurt, either), the decomposition rate is significantly sped up.
overnighting it: burn everything. just stay upwind until it's over (& you might not wanta watch the actual spectacle of its boiling; then again, you might: it was a pleasure to watch the coverplastic shrink to a brown blop & boil into flame).
apparently, a 3rd edition has appeared with no doubt further appeals to Little Miss Poop-A-Lot, shades of brown lipstick heretofore undreamed.
update: 2016
Survivors at a Wedding: 1952 .png 612×484 pixels
popchassid.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/150105_59090524...
Every single person depicted in this wedding photo in New York City is a Holocaust survivor or the child of a survivor. They say if you save a life, you’ve saved a world. Look at all those saved worlds. Breathtaking.
Copyright © Noë Gold; used by permission. Noë Gold is the author of Yiddish Glossary For Goyim and A Sexologist in Nazi Berlin
Holocaust Remembrance Day
www.flickr.com/photos/doctor_noe/3477504502
copyright © Noe Gold - All Rights Reserved
Every person in this photo is a survivor of a concentration camp or the child of a survivor. Five people in this photo are alive today, April 26, 2009.
Group photo from wedding of Heini & Rachel Goldwasser
Noe is boy with bow tie at left. Anna is girl at right.
Hirsch is bald-headed man w/ mustache rear, second from right.
Sala is beautiful lady in off-the-shoulder gown at right.
This morning I saw my son Dylan off on his class trip to Wash. DC. He is going to the Holocaust museum to search out and honor the testimony my mom gave there back in the 80s. Here is some of the text he is bringing with him to look her up (Mel Gibson, Amenidijihad and anybody else who says this never happened is a bag of shite) ...
Concentration Camp History
Herman "Hirsch" Goldwasser
Sala, "Sarah" née Abramczyk Goldwasser
Liberated April 4, 1945
Hirsch:
June '43 - Markstadt Fünfteichen
'44 & 45 - Gross-Rosen
Sarah:
June '43 - Guntherbrücke
July, '43 - Klettendorf
June, '44 -Ravensbruck
Herman "Hirsch" Goldwasser (June 08, 1911 - November 18, 1968) married Sala, daughter of Noah Abramczyk and Chana Rachil Selinger. They lived in Sosnowiec, Poland and had one daughter, Zeesele, before the war. This baby perished together with her Abramczyk grandparents at Auschwitz. Herman and Sala had two more children after the war. Noach & Anna.
Requiescat in Pace:
Herman "Hirsch" Goldwasser
Sala, "Sarah" née Abramczyk Goldwasser
Zeesele Goldwasser
+ + +
Pop Chassid sez:
... I'm doing a sequel to this post:
20 Photos That Change The Holocaust Narrative | Pop Chassid
popchassid.com/photos-holocaust-narrative/
I was hoping to include your incredible photo in the collection. It's going live this Thursday, Yom HaShoah. I'll of course give credit and any information you'd like included.
I also was wondering what year it was taken? Thank you so much, and I hope this message finds you well.
The year was 1952.
Pop Chassid:
popchassid.com/photos-holocaust-narrative/
Copyright © Noë Gold; used by permission.
Noë Gold is the author of
# Yiddish Glossary For Goyim (amazon: t.co/q7VAeEhF)
# A Sexologist in Nazi Berlin (DEVAULT-GRAVES DIGITAL EDITIONS)
Sincerely yours,
Noë Gold (aka Goldwasser)
PS, my parents and most of the people in the photo were Radomsker Chasidim.Holocaust Remembrance Day
copyright © Noe Gold - All Rights Reserved
Every person in this photo is a survivor of a concentration camp or the child of a survivor. Five people in this photo are alive today, April 26, 2009.
Group photo from wedding of Heini & Rachel Goldwasser
Noe is boy with bow tie at left. Anna is girl at right.
Hirsch is bald-headed man w/ mustache rear, second from right.
Sala is beautiful lady in off-the-shoulder gown at right.
This morning I saw my son Dylan off on his class trip to Wash. DC. He is going to the Holocaust museum to search out and honor the testimony my mom gave there back in the 80s. Here is some of the text he is bringing with him to look her up (Mel Gibson, Amenidijihad and anybody else who says this never happened is a bag of shite) ...
Anniversary Note: as the 59th wedding anniversary of my cousin Heini was Feb. 16, I thought I'd re-post this on some of the groups it's been featured on. Please see the following video for a great soundtrack:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKtt_QVPGiQ&NR=1
Concentration Camp History
Herman "Hirsch" Goldwasser
Sala, "Sarah" née Abramczyk Goldwasser
Liberated April 4, 1945
Hirsch:
June '43 - Markstadt Fünfteichen
'44 & 45 - Gross-Rosen
Sarah:
June '43 - Guntherbrücke
July, '43 - Klettendorf
June, '44 -Ravensbruck
Herman "Hirsch" Goldwasser (June 08, 1911 - November 18, 1968) married Sala, daughter of Noah Abramczyk and Chana Rachil Selinger. They lived in Sosnowiec, Poland and had one daughter, Zeesele, before the war. This baby perished together with her Abramczyk grandparents at Auschwitz. Herman and Sala had two more children after the war. Noach & Anna.
Requiescat in Pace:
Herman "Hirsch" Goldwasser
Sala, "Sarah" née Abramczyk Goldwasser
Zeesele Goldwasser Anna Rachel Goldwasser
Large, 45 mm high, long-dead, eroded specimen with imbricate (flounced) growth lines surviving in grooves between spiral cords; magnified X4 in inset.
Cast up from offshore onto storm beach strandline, Kirkcudbright, S.W. Scotland, July 1968.
Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW
PDF avaialable at www.researchgate.net/publication/369537725_Ocenebra_erina...
Sets of OTHER SPECIES at: www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Ocenebra erinaceus (Linnaeus, 1758).
Synonyms: Murex erinaceus Linnaeus, 1758; Ocenebra erinacea [misspelling in Graham, 1988]; 45 unaccepted subspecies and varieties listed on WoRMS.
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140405
Vernacular: European sting winkle, European oyster drill (English); Gwichiad coliog (Welsh); Stekelhoren, Geschubde stekelhoren (Dutch); Großes Seekälbchen, Gerippte Purpurschnecke, Gerippte Felsschnecke, Austernbohrer (German); Cormaillot (French); Ψευτόστρομπος (Greek).
GLOSSARY below.
Shell description.
The matt, opaque, solid shell grows sublittorally to 50 mm high and 25 mm wide (Fretter & Graham, 1985) fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2op3qCC, but most intertidal specimens are less than 30 mm high fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2op6v13 . The body-whorl is about 75% of the shell’s height. Those in the Mediterranean are larger (Jeffreys, 1867), occasionally up to 65 mm high (Pers. comm. Jakov Prkić, 18 March 2023), are generally more colourful and ornate fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2op3Kef & fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2op6tN8 and there are some differences in body features. The differences may be geographical variation, but it would be helpful if differing specimens could be molecularly sequenced.
Each of the tumid whorls has an angled shoulder and eight or nine widely spaced, strong costal ribs which are crossed by two major, rounded spiral cords on the spire whorls and by eight or nine on the body-whorl fig. 05 flic.kr/p/2op6th8 ; minor cords are also present. There are low knobs where the cords and costal ribs intersect. Numerous flounced growth lines cross the spiral cords and grooves and give the whole shell an imbricate appearance fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2op6t35 & fig. 07 flic.kr/p/2op8Aq1 unless eroded, when they survive longest in the grooves fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2op3qCC . On adults the most recently formed costal rib acts as a labial varix which thickens the palatal lip of the aperture fig. 05 flic.kr/p/2op6th8 unless there has been recent new growth fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2op6t35 . The sutures between the whorls are deep and sinuous. The sculpture becomes more pronounced with age. The shell exterior is yellowish white fig. 05 flic.kr/p/2op6th8 with varying amounts of brown which may create bands associated with the spiral cords or costal ribs fig. 08 flic.kr/p/2op6sCH . The protoconch, lacking obvious sculpture, has about two and a half tumid, smooth whorls about 1 mm in diameter fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2op6v13 which, when not eroded, form a sharp apical point.
The height of the aperture is about 60% of the shell height fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2op6v13 . It is approximately ‘P’ shaped with the nearly straight inner lip (parietal and columellar) and long siphonal canal forming the upright, and the palatal lip forming the curve. On young shells the canal is open fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2op6v13 . Later the columellar lip expands over the canal to roof it fig. 08 flic.kr/p/2op6sCH to a greater or lesser degree. All lips are pure white and the parietal lip tends to spread onto the adjacent body-whorl. The palatal lip may consist of the labial varix or a thin, finely folded lip projecting a minimal fig. 05 flic.kr/p/2op6th8 or moderate fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2op6t35 distance beyond the varix, depending on recent growth and erosion. It meets the parietal lip at about 90°. On mature shells, the palatal lip often has interior protrusions which correlate with the spiral grooves of the exterior fig. 09 flic.kr/p/2op8Yue . The interior of the aperture is smooth and glossy white.
The operculum fig. 10 flic.kr/p/2op7LKL has a fairly straight columellar-parietal edge. Its palatal edge is curved except for a straight basal section which, with the columellar-parietal edge, forms a wedge which fits into the siphonal canal. Centrally, it is dark reddish brown, but a wide peripheral zone is translucent yellowish fig. 11 flic.kr/p/2op6rLh .The outer face, made of conchiolin produced by the opercular groove, has a marginal nucleus with many fine, surrounding, concentric growth lines. The inner face has a non-marginal, excentric nucleus surrounded by broad, concentric, bands of adventitious conchiolin produced by a ring of gland cells in the opercular disc fig. 10 flic.kr/p/2op7LKL . Both interior bands and exterior growth lines are visible through the translucent operculum when viewed against a backlit white background; the patterns cross each other fig. 11 flic.kr/p/2op6rLh . The inner face has an area of rougher texture where the columellar muscle attaches to it. The edge of the attachment area is visible as a curved line unaligned with either growth lines or adventitious bands. Apart from the rough muscle-attachment, the inner face of operculum has a shiny varnished surface fig. 10 flic.kr/p/2op7LKL . The operculum is flexible so it can fit the aperture tightly behind the interior protrusions, if any, of the palatal lip fig. 09 flic.kr/p/2op8Yue or bend round the body fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2op8XAa .
Body description
The flesh is translucent white or yellowish white with many opaque white blotches, and yellow, sometimes saffron (Jeffreys, 1867), distally on the cephalic tentacles fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2op8XAa & fig. 13 flic.kr/p/2op8XsQ , but the yellow may not be developed on small juveniles fig. 07 flic.kr/p/2op8Aq1 and juveniles less than 5 mm high in the Adriatic may have grey and black bodies fig. 37 flic.kr/p/2opNWxW . Dark viscera are visible in parts of the body rarely extended into view fig. 14 flic.kr/p/2op7KP7 .
The small dorsoventrally flattened head consists of two diverging cephalic tentacles with thick bases tapering about two thirds of their length to an eye fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2op8XAa & fig. 14 flic.kr/p/2op7KP7 beyond which they are slender. Ventrally there is an opening slit (rhynchostome) fig. 15 flic.kr/p/2op8WGX for eversion of the pleurembolic feeding proboscis which can extend greatly; there is no permanently external snout. The radula, buccal mass and true mouth are in the distal end of the proboscis fig. 14 flic.kr/p/2op7KP7 when extended. The short rachiglossan radula has in each row of three colourless, transparent teeth a wide, central, rachidian tooth with many small cusps (points) flanked on either side by a longer marginal tooth. The cusps on the anterior rows are usually worn down by boring into the shells of prey.
The translucent yellowish white mantle roofs the mantle cavity fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2op8XAa and a folded portion fig. 14 flic.kr/p/2op7KP7 extends as a respiratory siphon through, but rarely beyond, the siphonal canal of the shell fig. 17 flic.kr/p/2op6qtC . The mantle covers the body but is translucent enough to reveal the organs when the animal is removed from the shell fig. 22 flic.kr/p/2op8VfZ . The edge of the mantle is thickened, more yellowish and less translucent fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2op8XAa .
The short, broad foot is about 33% the length of the shell fig. 18 flic.kr/p/2op6qhA . When fully spread it is widest at the anterior fig. 19 flic.kr/p/2op7JJm but it can vary to circular fig. 20 flic.kr/p/2op3Ek2 . There are no distinct propodial tentacles, but the agile foot can fold readily and bring the sides and flexible front corners together fig. 17 flic.kr/p/2op6qtC to manipulate prey or, in the case of females, manoeuvre egg capsules. The opening to the inverted accessory boring organ is on the medial fold line of the sole a short distance from the anterior. It is difficult to detect except when the sucker-like boring organ is everted to hold and to soften the shell of the prey for boring by the radula. A little further posterior than the boring gland on females there is an opening to the ventral pedal gland into which the foot inserts each newly laid egg capsule for final shaping and subsequent fixing to the substrate.
Dorsally the foot is coloured as the body but the yellowish white sole lacks opaque white marks except where those on the dorsum show through the thin periphery fig. 20 flic.kr/p/2op3Ek2
Behind the right tentacle, males have a large, white penis fig. 21 flic.kr/p/2op6pqL .
Removal of the shell fig. 22 flic.kr/p/2op8VfZ & fig. 23 flic.kr/p/2op8wre will show a large, yellowish, pinnate ctenidium and a smaller, pinnate, red-brown osphradium resembling a ctenidium in structure. The following organs may be visible through the translucent mantle: the greenish hypobranchial gland, rectum, black rectal gland, heart, kidney and the visceral lump containing the digestive gland and, in the breeding season, the ovary or testes.
Key identification features
Ocenebra erinaceus
1. Maximum height 50 mm, width 25 mm (W/H 50%) fig. 01https://flic.kr/p/2op3qCC . Littoral specimens usually to 30 mm high.
2. 8 to 9 costal ribs. Numerous imbricate growth lines fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2op6t35 .
3. Most recently formed costal rib forms a labial varix on or near palatal lip fig. 05 flic.kr/p/2op6th8 .
4. Two major spiral cords on the spire whorls and 8 to 9 on the body-whorl fig. 05 flic.kr/p/2op6th8 . Minor cords are also present.
5. Shell yellowish white with pure white aperture lips and siphonal canal. Open fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2op6v13 or closed fig. 08 flic.kr/p/2op6sCH siphonal canal often slightly longer than the aperture above it.
6. Cephalic tentacles translucent white with opaque white marks and yellow distally fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2op8XAa , but small juveniles may lack the yellow fig. 13 flic.kr/p/2op8XsQ .
7. Egg capsules 6 to 13 mm high. Shaped like a hot water bottle with sloping shoulders. Sometimes have a raised rib giving triangular cross section. Narrow aperture on a short neck has a small protruding plug. Whitish turning to yellow or purple with age fig. 24 flic.kr/p/2op6oKN .
8. Norway to Morocco and Mediterranean. Lives on rocky substrate all round Britain except east Scotland. Lower shore and sublittoral. Does not live in the Baltic or on continental coasts of the North Sea; multiple records of it at
waarneming.nl/species/20959/maps/?start_date=2000-08-29&a...
are fossils in sand dumped to replenish Dutch beaches (Han Raven, pers. comm. 14 March 2023).
Similar species
Shells have intraspecific variations with interspecific overlap, and features may be eroded or indiscernible on images, so use of more than one feature is advisable for reliable identification.
Ocinebrellus inornatus (Récluz, 1851)
O. inornatus “is very similar to Ocenebra erinaceus and is very difficult to distinguish due to the morphological variability of both” (Trigo et al. 2018). First arrivals of this invasive species are frequently mistaken for O. erinaceus. Large unworn adult shells of O. inornatus show the most distinct sculptural features. The form of egg capsules and colour of tentacle tips are diagnostic in north-west Europe.
1. Maximum height 63 mm (fig. 27 flic.kr/p/2op7GK1 ).
2. Usually 8 to 9, occasionally 4 to 12 costal ribs (Amano & Vermeij 1998 in Goud et al. 2008) on body-whorl. They are more prominent and angulated at the shoulder giving a more pronounced turreted effect than on Ocenebra erinaceus fig. 25 flic.kr/p/2op8vQj . No imbricate growth lines are visible in images of O. inornatus available for this account fig. 26 flic.kr/p/2op7GSA .
3. On large mature specimens the ribs on the body-whorl may be blade-like with the final one flaring out widely from the lip, level with the substrate fig. 27 flic.kr/p/2op7GK1 . But the more frequent smaller specimens have costal ribs and a labial varix like those on O. erinaceus fig. 25 flic.kr/p/2op8vQj .
4. 4 to 7 spiral cords on the body-whorl (Lützen et al, 2011).
5. Shell white with varying amounts and shades of brown. Aperture lips and siphonal canal white are sometimes whitish and brownish in parts. Siphonal canal is often slightly shorter than aperture above it.
6.Cephalic tentacles distally pure white without any yellow beyond the eye fig. 26 flic.kr/p/2op7GSA & fig. 28 flic.kr/p/2op3CD1 but some may be white faintly tinted brownish or pinkish proximally below the eye fig. 29 flic.kr/p/2op7Grf .
7. Egg capsules 15 to 20 mm high. Shaped like a kite with rounded lateral corners and a face strongly flexed so its two wings bend towards each other. Its tall neck tapers to a narrow aperture. Initially whitish turning yellow with age fig. 24 flic.kr/p/2op6oKN .
8. China, Korea, Japan and Sakhalin Island. Preys on Magallana gigas and has been accidentally translocated with commercial shipments of M. gigas to Pacific coasts of North America and to Europe from Iberia to Denmark. Locally common and a pest on oyster beds Not yet recorded in Britain (pers. comm. S. Taylor, Marine Recorder of Conchological Soc. G.B. & Ireland,15 March 2023) but because of difficulty in differentiating it from Ocenebra erinaceus it might be present unrecognised.
Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822)
1. Usual maximum height 15 mm and width 10 mm.
2. Eight to ten broad costal ribs on body-whorl. Slightly imbricate growth lines raised at irregular intervals, but not as prominently as on Ocenebra erinaceus.
3. Thin, crenulate palatal (outer) lip has no labial varix fig. 30 flic.kr/p/2op8TJc .
4. 18 to 20 spiral ridges on the body-whorl.
5. Shell dark brown fig. 30 flic.kr/p/2op8TJc , may show red of body within when well lit in water fig. 31https://flic.kr/p/2op7G27 . Dead worn shells are paler. Sigmoid, pearlescent white, parietal-columellar (inner) lip fig. 30 flic.kr/p/2op8TJc does not extend onto body-whorl. Siphonal canal open and orange-buff, when young, closed when older.
6. Cephalic tentacles and whole body intense red flecked with yellowish white spots fig. 31 flic.kr/p/2op7G27 . Tips of tentacles and siphon paler.
7. Egg capsules barrel shaped (Wigham & Graham, 2018).
8. Found often in proximity of Perforatus perforatus (Cirripedia) from the Mediterranean to Bretagne, Scilly Isles and south-west England.
Urosalpinx cinerea (Say, 1822). fig. 32 flic.kr/p/2op6ngR
1. Maximum height 40 mm, width 20 mm.
2. 10 to 12 low, sometimes inconspicuous, costal ribs on final whorl.
3. Thin, crenulate palatal (outer) lip thickens and develops internal ribs with age. No labial varix.
4. 16 to 18 spiral ridges on the body-whorl, eroded where they cross the costae, so no protruding nodules. Sometimes spiral ridges more prominent than costae.
5. Shell yellowish or grey with brownish white aperture lips and siphonal canal. Open siphonal canal half the length of the aperture above it.
6. Flesh is cream with dark marks on tentacles and mantle edge.
7. Egg capsules about 5 mm high. Flattened oval attached to substrate with a thin stem. Wide, slightly everted aperture has recessed plug. Buff or yellowish fig. 24 flic.kr/p/2op6oKN
8. Nova Scotia to Florida. Introduced from America with commercial Magallana gigas to south-east England and the Netherlands. Lower shore and sublittoral to 15 m.
Nucella lapillus (Linnaeus, 1758)
1. Usual maximum height 45 mm, to 65 mm sublittorally.
2. No costal ribs. Numerous imbricate growth lines on small juveniles occasionally persist on adults fig. 33 flic.kr/p/2op8SiB .
3. No labial varix. Lip thin when young, thickened when full grown.
4. Shell often worn smooth fig. 34 flic.kr/p/2op3AEX but some have about 2 spiral bands on the spire whorls and about 10 on the body-whorl fig. 35 flic.kr/p/2op6kjQ .
5. Shell usually whitish; sometimes yellowish, and bands of various colours may occur fig. 34 flic.kr/p/2op3AEX . Aperture lips and siphonal canal usually white but can have patches of other colour.
6. Body and cephalic tentacles pure white fig. 34 flic.kr/p/2op3AEX .
7. Egg capsules are spindle shaped, up to 10 mm high and 4 mm wide, on a short thin stalk. Yellowish white becoming yellow or sometimes purple or brownish with age fig. 24 flic.kr/p/2op6oKN .
8. White Sea to Gibraltar, not Baltic (low salinity), and Greenland to New York. Common on hard substrate all around Ireland and Britain, avoiding low salinity of inner estuaries.
Habits and ecology
O. erinaceus lives on rocky shores at LWST and sublittorally to 150 m on stony substrate.
It feeds on bivalves, barnacles and tube dwelling worms, boring holes through their shells to rasp out the flesh with its radula. It takes about ten days to bore into and consume an oyster with its everted proboscis fig. 16 flic.kr/p/2op8y3A .
The strong shell affords protection against predators. When active, little of the animal protrudes beyond its shelter fig. 18 flic.kr/p/2op6qhA and the operculum protects nearly half of the foot. In Croatia those in shallow water are often covered with algae which conceal them fig. 36 flic.kr/p/2op3zyP . When sealed, the long siphonal canal protects the siphon so it can remain safely extended for respiration when the animal is retracted into the shell fig. 09 flic.kr/p/2op8Yue .
Inhalant water entering through the respiratory siphon has its quality checked by the pectinate osphradium at the inner end of the siphon before passing through the larger pectinate ctenidium fig. 22 flic.kr/p/2op8VfZ & fig. 23 flic.kr/p/2op8wre .
O. erinaceus breeds in late April and May in Britain. The male fertilizes the female internally with its long penis. Egg capsules from the oviduct are manoeuvred one at a time by the female’s flexible foot into the ventral pedal gland where they are moulded before being fixed to rock or shells. Several capsules are laid close together, and females often lay in company. The egg capsules are 6 to 13 mm high, and are shaped like a hot water bottle with sloping shoulders. Sometimes a raised rib creates a triangular cross section. The narrow aperture is on a short neck and has a protruding plug. The capsules are initially whitish turning to yellow or purple with age fig. 24 flic.kr/p/2op6oKN . After nine or ten weeks, most of the young emerge from the capsule as crawling juveniles, but about 14% emerge as late veliger, swimming larvae with a well developed four-lobed velum and a foot. They lose the velum within five days (Wigham & Graham, 2018).
Like Nucella lapillus, females in the vicinity of boats treated with Tributyltin (TBT), an anti-fouling biocide, experience imposex, the malformation of the oviduct causing sterility. Near Plymouth and Falmouth docks, England, about 90% of female O. erinaceus were so affected in studies from 1991 to 1995 (Gibbs, 1996). Even so, the reproductive failure was less than that experienced by N. lapillus perhaps because of arrival of swimming late veligers, which N. lapillus lacks, from less affected areas.
Distribution and status
O. erinaceus occurs from the Azores and the Mediterranean to its winter-cold induced limits in northern France and south-east Scotland. It does not live in the Baltic or on continental coasts of the North Sea; multiple records of it at
waarneming.nl/species/20959/maps/?start_date=2000-08-29&a...
are fossils in sand dumped to replenish Dutch beaches (Han Raven, pers. comm. 14 March 2023) and probably some misidentified Ocinebrellus inornatus. These misleading records have transferred to GBIF at www.gbif.org/species/4364689 . Because of the mild Atlantic drift in winter, it extends up the west coast of Ireland and Britain to Orkney and Shetland. The U.K. distribution map at species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0021055838 probably shows the true position (accessed March 2023), but there, too, fossils are present in pleistocene glacial drift (Forbes & Hanley, 1853) from which they may be washed out onto beaches.
In the past, the limits have shifted. During the exceptionally severe winters 1928 - 1929 and 1962 - 1963, the population along the British North Sea coast was almost annihilated (Lützen et al., 2011). With global warming it is possible that it may spread north of its current limits, but recording of any change should be based on live specimens as the solid shells persist for long periods after death.
Acknowledgements
For use of images I thank Philippe Boissel, Pierre Corbrion, Valentin Engelbos, Marion Haarsma, Gabriel Paladino Ibáñez, Kaila Wheatley Kornblum, Michal Maňas, Alen Petani, Jakov Prkić, Malcolm Storey, Simon Taylor, Freek Titselaar, Albert van den Bruele, Daniëlla van Dijk and Stefan Verheyen. For helpful discussion and information I thank Han Raven and Stefan Verheyen.
Links and references
Forbes, E. & Hanley S. 1849-53. A history of the British mollusca and their shells. vol. 3 (1853), London, van Voorst. (As Murex erinaceus)
archive.org/details/historyofbritish03forbe/page/370/mode...
Fretter, V. 1941 The genital ducts of some British stenoglossan prosobranchs J. Mar. Biol. Ass. 25(1): 173-211.
plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1194/1/The_genital_ducts_of_some_...
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1962. British prosobranch molluscs: their functional anatomy and ecology. London, Ray Society.
Fretter, V. and Graham, A. 1985. The prosobranch molluscs of Britain and Denmark. Part 8 – Neogastropoda. Suppl. 15, J. Moll. Stud.
Gibbs, P.E. 1996. Oviduct malformation as a sterilising effect of tributyltin (TBT)-induced imposex in Ocenebra erinacea (Gastropoda: Muricidae). J. Moll. Stud., 62 (4): 403 to 413. academic.oup.com/mollus/article/62/4/403/1053911 (open access).
Goud, J., Titselaar, F. & Mulder, G. 2008. Weer een ‘verstekeling’: de Japanse Stekelhoren Ocinebrellus inornatus (Récluz, 1851) (Gastropoda, Muricidae) levend aangetroffen in de Oosterschelde. Spirula 365: 132 to 134. natuurtijdschriften.nl/pub/1002492
Graham, A. 1988. Molluscs: prosobranch and pyramidellid gastropods. Synopses of the British Fauna (New Series) no.2 (Second edition). Leiden, E.J.Brill/Dr. W. Backhuys. 662 pages.
Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (eds.) 1995. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford University Press.
Jeffreys, J.G. 1862-69. British conchology. vol. 4 (1867). London, van Voorst. (As Murex erinaceus) archive.org/details/britishconcholog04jeffr/page/306/mode...
Lützen J., Faasse, M., Gittenberger, A., Glenner, H. and Hoffmann, E. 2011. The Japanese oyster drill Ocinebrellus inornatus (Récluz, 1851) (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Muricidae), introduced to the Limfjord, Denmark. Aquatic Invasions 7(2): 181–191.
www.aquaticinvasions.net/2012/AI_2012_2_Lutzen_etal.pdf
McKay, D.W. & Smith, S.M. 1979. Marine Mollusca of East Scotland. Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Museum.
Oehlmann, J., Fioroni, P., Stroben, E. and Markert, B. 1996. Tributyltin (TBT) effects on Ocinebrina aciculata (Gastropoda: Muricidae): imposex development, sterilization, sex change and population decline. Sci. Total Environ. 188: 205-223
www.bio.uni-frankfurt.de/55030905/Oehlmann-et-al-1996-STO...
Trigo, J.E.; Diaz Agras, G.J.; Garcia Alvarez, O.L.; Guerra, A.; Moreira, J.; Pérez, J.; Rolán, E.; Troncoso, J.S,; Urgorri, V.. 2018. Guia de los Moluscos Marinos de Galicia. Servicio de Publicacións da Universidade de Vigo.
Wigham, G.D. & Graham, A. 2018. Marine gastropods 3: Neogastropoda. Synopses of the British Fauna (New Series) no.62. (206 pages). Field Studies Council,Telford, England.
Glossary
acrembolic = (of proboscis) entirely invertible/eversible like finger of glove.
adventitious = in an unusual anatomical position.
aperture = mouth of gastropod shell; outlet for head and foot.
buccal mass = anterior of digestive system including a radula, odontophore and muscles.
cephalic = (adj.) of or on the head.
cf. = (abbreviation of Latin ‘confer’) compare with.
cilia = (pl.) vibrating linear extensions of membrane used in locomotion.
coll. = (or “in coll.”, abbreviation of “in collectionem”) in the collection of (cf. leg.).
columella = axis of gastropod shell spiral, exposed on final whorl by aperture.
columellar = (adj.) of or near central axis of spiral gastropod.
columellar lip = lower (abapical) part of inner lip of aperture.
conchiolin = horny flexible protein which forms the operculum of most marine gastropods, the periostracum and a matrix for the deposition of calcium carbonate to create a mollusc’s shell. Chemical structure C30H48O11N3; ‘chitinous’ as it resembles, though not identical to, chitin (C8H13O5N)n.
costa = (pl. costae) axial rib crossing shell whorl at about right-angles to any spiral striae.
costal = (adj.) of, or arranged like, costae.
ctenidium = comb-like molluscan gill with filaments either side of a rachis .
cusp = raised point or prominence on crown of a tooth.
digestive gland = organ which acts like the liver and pancreas in mammals to absorb food.
distal = away from centre of body or from point of attachment.
dorsoventrally flattened = as if pressed flat from above.
efferent = (adj. of vessel) carrying haemolymph away from an organ.
efferent branchial vessel = vessel along rachis of ctenidium which carries oxygenated haemolymph away from the ctenidium to the heart for circulation to organs.
ELWST = extreme low water spring tide (usually near March and September equinoxes).
everted = turned inside out from the body.
height = (abbreviation H.) distance from apex of shell to base of aperture.
hypobranchial gland = gland which secretes mucus to trap and consolidate particles from inhalant water. Probably other biologically active compounds produced. On contact with air and light, mucus changes from greenish through red to purple.
imbricate = arranged to overlap like roof tiles.
inverted = turned outside in like a sock.
labial varix = especially strong or broad costa (rib) near edge of outer lip of aperture.
leg. = (abbreviation of legit) collected/ found by (cf. coll.)
LWST = low water spring tide, two periods of a few days each month when tide falls lowest.
mantle = sheet of tissue that secretes shell and forms a cavity for the gill in most marine molluscs. mantle edge = only part that produces exterior layers of shell. When flounced, it makes protruding shell-growth that forms imbricate sculpture.
odontophore = tongue-like structure of cartilage supporting radula.
opercular = (adj.) of the operculum.
operculum = plate of horny conchiolin, rarely calcareous, used to close shell aperture.
osphradium = organ for testing inhalant water for particles and/or chemicals produced by pollutants, prey or predators.
parietal lip = upper part of inner side of gastropod aperture.
periostracum = thin horny layer of chitinous material often coating shells.
pers. comm. = personal communication by face-to-face conversation, telephone, letter or email.
pleurembolic proboscis = basal part (only) of proboscis inverts to form a sac for rest of proboscis to be retracted into without inversion. (cf. acrembolic).
proboscis = internal feeding tube, containing the buccal mass with radula; only extended when feeding.
protoconch = apical whorls produced during embryonic and larval stages; different in form from other whorls forming teleoconch.
proximal = towards the centre of the body or point of attachment.
rachidian = (adj.) median/middle tooth in each row of teeth on radula.
rachiglossan = (adj.) of radula with a many-cusped, rachidian tooth, and single marginal tooth at each side.
rachis = central shaft/main axis of a feather or gill plume.
radula = chitinous ribbon of teeth; extended on odontophore to rasp food.
rectal gland = black or brown diverticulum of the rectum lying over it. Found in O. erinaceus and other Neogastropoda. Its function is unknown.
velum = bilobed flap on veliger larva, with beating cilia for swimming.
rhynchostome = opening on ventral surface of head for eversion of a proboscis.
sigmoid = curved in two directions like letter ‘S’ but often with shallower curvature.
suture = groove or line where whorls of gastropod shell adjoin.
teleoconch = entire gastropod shell, apart from apical protoconch.
tumid = bulging, distended, swollen, distinctly convex.
tumidity = the condition of being tumid.
varix = (see labial)
veliger = shelled larva of marine mollusc; swims by waving cilia on velum (bilobed flap).
Width of slender body is about 10% of its extended length. Cerata are about as long as the body width. 1: buccal mass. 2: distinctive coiled structure.
Length 8 mm. Menai Strait, Wales. April 2011.
Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW
PDF available at
www.researchgate.net/publication/361462903_Coryphella_gra...
Sets of OTHER SPECIES at: www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/
Coryphella gracilis (Alder & Hancock, 1844).
Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=139981
Synonyms: Eolis gracilis Alder & Hancock, 1844; Eolis smaragdina Alder & Hancock, 1851; Flabellina gracilis (Alder & Hancock, 1844); Microchlamylla gracilis (Alder & Hancock, 1844); Coryphella rufibranchialis var. clavigera Odhner, 1929; Coryphella verrucosa var. smaragdina (Alder and Hancock, 1851) [in Thompson and Brown (1976)].
GLOSSARY BELOW
Description
The small body, grows to a usual maximum length of 12 mm, occasionally 15 mm. It is very slender (Alder & Hancock, 1844-1854), more so than other European Coryphella spp. (Korshunova et al., 2017). Its width is about 10% of its extended length fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2nsSSZQ & fig. 13 flic.kr/p/2nt2wGQ . It is semi-transparent white, revealing the internal anatomy fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nt1iVM, including a distinctive coiled part of the reproductive system fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2nsSSZQ & fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2nt2x3Q . It matures when about 8 mm long, when the opaque white spheroids of the ovotestes are visible fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nt1iVM . On the tail there is a discontinuous, opaque white, medial line which is sometimes reduced to a few small spots fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nt2x2c . The hermaphrodite genital opening may protrude from the side below the cerata behind the right rhinophore fig. 05 flic.kr/p/2nt3QtL .
The cerata are about as long as the body width fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2nsSSZQ but are fewer in number and relatively longer on early juveniles fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2nt1iR8 .They are often narrowed at the base and appear elliptical fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nt1iVM . They are fewer and flex less than the longer cerata of similar species, and leave much of the notum exposed. On each side of the body they are arranged in up to 5, occasionally 6, linear groups. Each group arises from a pronounced notal ridge, which is transparent, colourless so often difficult to discern fig. 07 flic.kr/p/2nsV6KR . The bright red, orange-red, ginger-brown, yellow fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2nt1iR8 , olive-brown fig. 08 flic.kr/p/2nt1iN2 or green fig. 09 flic.kr/p/2nt1krj internal digestive gland is granular fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nt1iVM . The gland is visible in the transparent cerata and in the notal ridge connecting them fig. 10 flic.kr/p/2nt1iHh . The digestive gland does not occupy the transparent, colourless apical c. 15% of each ceras which contains an oval white cnidosac and has a thin, irregular, opaque white subapical ring on the surface.
The translucent white rhinophores are smooth or slightly wrinkled with white surface pigment on the distal half fig. 08 flic.kr/p/2nt1iN2 . The head has translucent white oral tentacles with white surface pigment distally. They are a similar length to the rhinophores. The outer lips of the mouth are large and prominent fig. 11 flic.kr/p/2nt3Qkj & fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2nt1kjW .
The anterior of the foot is usually rounded and variably extended laterally into short fig. 11 flic.kr/p/2nt3Qkj or long fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2nt1kjW , triangular, propodial tentacles, giving the anterior a crescentic form. When fully extended the propodial tentacles are about as long as the width of the body fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2nt1kjW . The translucent sole reveals spheroid, white ovotestes and other viscera fig. 13 flic.kr/p/2nt2wGQ ; but early juveniles lack ovotestes . When the ovotestes are fully developed they may obscure the view through the sole fig. 14 flic.kr/p/2nsV6wz .
Key identification features
Coryphella gracilis (Alder and Hancock, 1844)
1) Cerata length about same as body width fig. 01 flic.kr/p/2nsSSZQ ; relatively longer on early juveniles fig. 06 flic.kr/p/2nt1iR8 . Narrowed at base so sometimes elliptical fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nt1iVM . Arise from a pronounced notal ridge fig. 07 flic.kr/p/2nsV6KR containing the digestive gland under cerata.
2) Digestive gland in cerata is granular fig. 03 flic.kr/p/2nt1iVM , colour varies red, brownish, orange, yellow or green. Narrow, often fragmentary, subterminal opaque white ring on cerata fig. 10 flic.kr/p/2nt1iHh .
3) Opaque white dorsal line on tail is sometimes fragmentary fig. 04 flic.kr/p/2nt2x2c or missing. No line on rest of body. Distinctive, internal, coiled structure fig. 02 flic.kr/p/2nt2x3Q behind rhinophores. White ovotestes are visible fig. 3 when 8 mm long, at which size ovotestes are missing in similar larger species.
4) Distinct triangular, propodial tentacles. When fully extended, length nearly as great as body width fig. 12 flic.kr/p/2nt1kjW .
5) Scattered records around Britain and Ireland. Few or none in southern half of east coast England and north-east Irish Sea.
Similar species
Coryphella verrucosa rufibranchialis fig. 15 flic.kr/p/2nt3QbX & fig. 16 flic.kr/p/2nsV6i8 .
1) Cerata as long as the width of the body, and held at varying angles, often across each other.
2) Cerata have a narrow, subterminal, opaque white ring.
3) Continuous white dorsal line on tail, sometimes a broken, white, dorsal line on body.
4) Propodial expansions sometimes form small propodial tentacles.
5) Recorded from Scandinavia, Britain, Bretagne and also Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, Bering Sea and Sea of Japan (Thompson and Brown 1984).
[Coryphella verrucosa verrucosa omitted from comparison as it is unlikely to be confused with C. gracilis]
Coryphella browni Picton, 1980. fig. 17 flic.kr/p/2nsV6fY & fig. 18 flic.kr/p/2nt2wjA .
1) Cerata length up to twice the body width.
2) Broad white band on cerata distally, but no pigment on apex.
3) Interrupted white medial line, often reduced to a few dots or none, on tail. No line on rest of body.
4) Distinct tapering propodial tentacles, length about 25% of body width.
5) Scattered records around Britain and Ireland. Few or none in southern half of east coast England and north-east Irish Sea.
Carronella pellucida (Alder & Hancock, 1843). fig. 19 flic.kr/p/2nt1jUh & fig. 20 flic.kr/p/2nt1jQz
1) Cerata length greater than width of body.
2) White pigment covers entire distal end of cerata.
3) Opaque white dorsal line on tail. No line on rest of body.
4) Long tapering propodial tentacles as long as, or longer than, width of body.
5) Scandinavia and Scotland; the few English records on NBN are probably misidentifications.
Habits and ecology
C. gracilis lives sublittorally and at LWS on sheltered rocky shores with strong currents, on or near its hydroid prey; Eudendrium spp. fig. 09 flic.kr/p/2nt1krj , Halecium articulosum and Clytia johnstoni. Like other nudibranchs, it is a simultaneous hermaphrodite. Spawn is looped around its prey, or deposited as a spiral line on hard substrate fig. 21 flic.kr/p/2nt2wcr , in mid April, May and possibly other months. Veliger larvae emerge and drift as plankton before transforming into the adults.
Distribution and status
C. gracilis is recorded from Iceland to the Atlantic coast of France, and there are records in north-east America fig. 22 flic.kr/p/2ntJ4fN , GBIF map www.gbif.org/species/2292262 . Scattered records around Britain and Ireland and sometimes locally common. Few or none in southern half of east coast England and north-east Irish Sea. It is probably under recorded because of its small size and confusion with other Coryphella spp. UK distribution map, species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0021185584 .
Acknowledgements
For use of images I gratefully thank Jim Anderson, Billy Arthur, Roy Dahl, Nathan Jeffery, Amy Newfield, Tim Nicholson, Poul Rasmussen and Alastair Skene, and I thank Simon Taylor for specimens. For helpful advice I thank Jeff Goddard and Angel Valdes.
References and links
Alder, J. & Hancock, A. 1845-1855. A monograph of the British nudibranchiate mollusca. London, Ray Society.
Family 3, plate 17. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131598#page/350/mode/1up
Family 3, plate 18. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131598#page/354/mode/1up
Korshunova, T., Martynov, A., Bakken, T., Evertsen, J., Fletcher, K., Mudianta, W.I., Saito, H., Lundin, K., Schrödl, M. and Picton B. 2017. Polyphyly of the traditional family Flabellinidae affects a major group of Nudibranchia: aeolidacean taxonomic reassessment with descriptions of several new families, genera, and species (Mollusca, Gastropoda). ZooKeys 717: 1–139. doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.717.21885
Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. 1976. British opisthobranch molluscs. London, Academic Press.
Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. 1984. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs 2. London, Ray Society.
Glossary
buccal mass = anterior of digestive system including an odontophore which supports the anterior of the radula, and a complex of muscles to operate them and other mouthparts.
cerata = (sing. ceras) lobes on dorsum of aeolids and some other seaslugs.
circum-oesophageal nerve ring = ganglia-bearing nerve cord which encircles the oesophagus.
cnidocytes = explosive stinging cells of Cnidaria. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidocyte
cnidosac = storage capsule at tips of cerata of Aeolidiidae for ingested unexploded cnidocytes.
digestive gland = large organ in gastropods which acts like the liver and pancreas in mammals to absorb food.
distal = away from centre of body or from point of attachment.
ganglia = (sing. ganglion) knots on a nerve cord containing sensory cell bodies that conduct impulses to (innervate) organs of the body.
LWS = low water spring tide; two periods of a few days each month when tide falls lowest.
notal = (adj.) of the back.
notal ridge = ridge on dorsal surface.
notum = (of seaslugs) the dorsal surface.
ovotestis = (pl. ovotestes) hermaphrodite organ serving as both ovary and testis.
propodial tentacles = tentacular, lateral extensions on anterior of the foot.
propodium = anterior portion of gastropod foot. (adj. propodial).
rhinophores = chemo-receptor tentacles on top of head of nudibranch.
veliger = shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which moves by action of cilia on a velum (bilobed flap). Stage may be passed in plankton or within liquid-filled egg-capsule.
I've finally completed the photography glossary on my website - took forever, but it's finally usable. Please let me know if I missed anything.
David Beck
Austin, TX