Home Guide to Opisthobranchs Cephalaspidea Philinoidea Scaphander lignarius

Scaphander lignarius

Scaphander lignarius (Linnaeus, 1758)

Scaphander lignarius @ Artsdatabanken - Cephalaspids of Norway by Manuel Malaquias

Taxonomy
 

Superdomain

Biota  

 

Kingdom

Animalia  

 

Phylum

Mollusca  

 

Class

Gastropoda  

 

Subclass

Heterobranchia  

 

Infraclass

Euthyneura  

 

Subterclass

Tectipleura  

 

Order

Cephalaspidea  

 

Superfamily

Philinoidea  

 

Family

Scaphandridae  

 

Genus

Scaphander  

 

Species

Scaphander lignarius  (Linnaeus, 1758)

 
 Classification according to Bouchet et al. (2017)
Taxonomic source: World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID: 139488).
Synonyms

  • Assula convoluta Schumacher, 1817
  • Bulla laevis Aradas & Maggiore, 1840
  • Bulla lignaria Linnaeus, 1758 (original)
  • Bulla zonata Turton, 1834
  • Gioenia sicula Bruguière, 1792
  • Scaphander brownii Leach, 1852
  • Scaphander giganteus Risso, 1826
  • Scaphander lignarius var. alba Jeffreys, 1867
  • Scaphander lignarius var. britannica Monterosato, 1884
  • Scaphander lignarius var. brittanica Monterosato, 1884
  • Scaphander lignarius var. curta Jeffreys, 1867
  • Scaphander lignarius var. hidalgoi Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1882
  • Scaphander lignarius var. minuscula Monterosato, 1884
  • Scaphander lignarius var. targionia Risso, 1826
  • Scaphander targionius Risso, 1826
  • Tricla gioeni Philippson, 1788

Description
The shell of this cephalaspidean is external, large, thick and pear-shaped in dorsal view. The size of the shell can reach up to 6 cm in the largest specimens, however, despite its size, the soft parts of the animal can not be fully retracted within. The shell of the living animal has an outer thin layer of brown periostracum. Beneath it, the outer surface of the shell has a pattern of very tightly arranged spiral lines over a light brown background. The apex of the shell is narrow and concave. The opening of the shell is very wide, as long as the total of the shell, and wider on the anterior side. The inside of the shell is white and the inner lip of the opening has a thick and white retreat. The animal’s body is white or slightly yellow, the head shield is broad, square-shaped and with two rounded lobes extending backwards. The eyes are not visible. The foot is wide and as long as the shell and while the parapodial lobes are well developed, they don’t usually fully cover the shell.

Biology
This species lives in sand or mud bottoms into which it can easily bury down to 5 cm, because of the shape of the foot and the cephalic shield, to hunt its preys. Lives at depths between 30 and 700 m and is often caught in commercial trawl fisheries. It has been cited feeding on foraminifera, polychaete worms, scaphopod molluscs, bivalves and gastropods, sipunculids, irregular urchins (Echinocyamus, Echinocardium) and some crustaceans (Thompson, 1976). When disturbed it is able to secrete a yellowish viscous fluid, possibly with defensive mission.

Etymology

  • Scaphander. From Greek “skaphe”, boat, any excavated object + “andros”, man.
  • Lignarius. In Latin means “belonging or related to wood” because of the shell colouration.

Distribution
S. lignarius lives in all European coasts, from Iceland and Norway to the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and Madeira. In the Iberian Peninsula it has been recorded in all coastal areas, both Atlantic and Mediterranean, also in the Balearic islands (Cervera et al., 2004). In Catalonia it has been cited in several locations and trawling grounds like those near Llançà, Blanes, Sant Pol de Mar, Mataró, Vilassar de Mar, Sitges, Vilanova, Cubelles, Calafell, Montroig del Camp and Sant Carles de la Rapita.

Known georeferenced records of the species: Scaphander lignarius
Sources:
: OBIS
: GROC 2010-2011
: Enric Madrenas
: João Pedro Silva
: Bernard Picton
: GBIF.ORG		 : OPK
: VIMAR
: Manuel Ballesteros.
: M@re Nostrum
: Altres fonts
: Marine Regions

Abundance

    Western Mediterranean: ★★☆☆☆
    Eastern Mediterranean: ★★☆☆☆
    Atlantic Ocean: ★★★☆☆
Month

This chart displays the monthly observation probability for Scaphander lignarius based on our own records.

Videos

 

More pictures

Scaphander lignarius by Manuel Ballesteros
Scaphander lignarius Rathlin Island, Co Antrim, Ireland, -16m. 4 June 2009. – Photograph ©Bernard Picton
Scaphander lignarius Animal removed from beneath the sand. 4 June 2009 by Bernard Picton

Bibliography

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Further reading

Cite this article as:

Ballesteros, M., Madrenas, E. & Pontes, M. (2012-2025) "Scaphander lignarius" in OPK-Opistobranquis. Published: 29/08/2012. Accessed: 03/02/2025. Available at (https://opistobranquis.info/en/?p=2254)