(Adams J., 1800)
Description (shell):
The shell is internal, covered over by the mantle, and may reach 2 mm in length. It is oval, fragile and white, having a very wide aperture which is approximately the same length as the spire. Minute sculpture is detectable, consisting of spiral rows of oval dots which occasionally fuse in some areas of the shell.
Animal:
Body very small, up to 5 mm. Body pale yellow with red-brown specks. Cephalic shield rounded posteriorly, slightly angular anteriorly. Posterior quarter very rounded, with gaping mantle cavity. Parapodial lobes less fleshy than in Philine aperta , and body parts more clearly demarcated. Distinguished from Philine aperta mainly by its much smaller size (P. punctata-drawing).
Habitat:
Lower shore, in pools and on silty sand; offshore to 240 m.
Distribution:
Distributed from Greenland, Faroes, Shetlands and NW Europe from Norway to the Mediterranean Sea (Distr. P. punctata). Also found off Helgoland (Harms, 1993).