(Massy, 1909)
Full name (Van der Spoel et al., 1997): Clione limacina (Phipps, 1774) subsp. limacina (Phipps, 1774) forma gracilis (Massy, 1909)
Description
A naked pelagic snail, up to 1 cm long, with a mainly transparent body that only shows orange/red colour in the tail, tentacles and mouth organs. The buccal cones are pointed, the body is slender. The reddish brown visceral mass occupies only the anterior half of the body and is seen through the body wall.
Body narrow, elongate, and pointed posteriorly. Head large, broader than long. The three pairs of buccal cones are longer and more pointed than in the forma limacina. Hooks less narrow and less attenuated near the apex than in the forma limacina, while the radula teeth are larger. About 30 hooks in each hook sac. Foot parts well developed, lateral footlobes broad, pointed posteriorly, median lobe long, terminating acutely. The wings are long.
Radula formula: radula with about 18 to 35 transverse rows, has the formula 9-1-9 (6-1-6). The median teeth show a variable [C.l.l.gracilis-rad1, C.l.l.gracilis-rad2] dentated free border with a central incision.
A description of juveniles is not available.
Size
Body length up to 10 mm.
Ecology
This forma is a carnivore. It is a rather quick swimmer that hunts shelled pteropods as food. It lives in the upper water layers, where it can occur in mass blooms.
Depth range
Epipelagic
Distribution in the North Sea
Northern North Sea
World distribution
This forma is restricted to the NE Atlantic. See also the explanation of distribution under C.l.l. limacina.
[After Van der Spoel et al., 1997]