Philine aperta

However, according to Price et al. (2011), based on anatomy, there are two distinct species, the first one in South Africa and Mozambique, the second one in European seas.

[3] Philine aperta is a sturdy, solid-bodied animal, white to cream in colour, with an internal shell and a folded appearance.

The body is divided into a head shield, which is flattened for burrowing in sandy substrates, a posterior shield that overlies the viscera and internal shell, and two lateral lobes, one on each side.

[3] Philine aperta is an active, sand-dwelling, predatory species; it eats small molluscs and worms which are swallowed whole, and then crushed in its gizzard.

Its egg masses are translucent, sausage-shaped and are attached to sandy bottoms by long mucous threads.