Aplysia fasciata

Aplysia fasciata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Heterobranchia
Clade:	Euopisthobranchia
Clade:	Anaspidea
Superfamily:	Aplysioidea
Family:	Aplysiidae
Genus:	Aplysia
Species:	A. fasciata
Binomial name
	Aplysia fasciata; Poiret, 1789
Synonyms
	Aplysia brasiliana Rang, 1828; Aplysia willcoxiHeilprin, 1887; Aplysia winnebaEales, 1957; Aplysia limacina; Tethys floridensis Pilsbry, 1895; Tethys willcoxi(Heilprin, 1887);

Last updated June 26, 2023

Aplysia fasciata, common name the "mottled sea hare", or the "sooty sea hare", is an Atlantic species of sea hare or sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae.^[1]

Distribution

This sea hare occurs in the Western Atlantic from New Jersey to Brazil, and in the Eastern Atlantic including the Mediterranean and the West African coast. They have also been sighted along the Atlantic coast of France. It is a rare visitor to the seas off the southern British Isles (the related A. punctata is regular along most British coasts, as well as the northeast Atlantic).

Some consider the species Aplysia brasiliana, found in the Atlantic coast of the Americas, to be a synonym of Aplysia fasciata with just a different regional colour pattern.

Description

Aplysia fasciata can grow to sizes up to 40 cm long. Coloring is often black or a very dark brown, sometimes with a thin red border to the parapodia, foot, and tentacles.^[3] Many also have mottled spots which span across their body, earning the name "mottled sea hare". Aplysia fasciata have, like most sea slugs, two oral tentacles and two more smaller rhinopores in front on their neck. Eyes are positioned in front of the rhinopores. Small, rounded "tails" are fixed to their hindside. A mantle covers its gills and internal organs. Inside the mantle, a thin, delicate inner shell lays. The shell is concave, with amber coloring and a slightly hooked apex. Inside the mantle is the ink gland.

Behavior

Aplysia fasciata eat algae and seaweed attached to rocks and other surfaces. They are often seen swimming in groups, along tide pools and rocks.

These sea hares also secrete a sort of ink. The ink takes on a purple hue, a result of eating red algae. It is believed to be non-toxic, though is assumed that the ink is secreted as a result of a sort of physical "assault" on the sea hare.

Egg masses appear as a long, pale cream mass. They are somewhat noodle-like in appearance.

Aplysia fasciata are known for their "graceful" swimming. They often flap their parapodia, often being described as "flapping wings".^[3]

Related Research Articles

The California sea hare is a species of sea slug in the sea hare family, Aplysiidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California in the United States and northwestern Mexico.

The clade Anaspidea, commonly known as sea hares, are medium-sized to very large opisthobranch gastropod molluscs with a soft internal shell made of protein. These are marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamilies Aplysioidea and Akeroidea.

Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails that over evolutionary time have either completely lost their shells, or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a greatly reduced or internal shell. The name "sea slug" is most often applied to nudibranchs, as well as to a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without obvious shells.

Opisthobranchs is a now informal name for a large and diverse group of specialized complex gastropods which used to be united in the subclass Opisthobranchia. That taxon is no longer considered to represent a monophyletic grouping.

Aplysiidae is the only family in the superfamily Aplysioidea, within the clade Anaspidea. These animals are commonly called sea hares because, unlike most sea slugs, they are often quite large, and when they are underwater, their rounded body shape and the long rhinophores on their heads mean that their overall shape resembles that of a sitting rabbit or hare. Sea hares are however sea snails with shells reduced to a small plate hidden between the parapodia, and some species are extremely large. The Californian black sea hare, Aplysia vaccaria is arguably the largest living gastropod species, and is certainly the largest living heterobranch gastropod.

Petalifera is a genus of sea slugs or sea hares, marine gastropod mollusks belonging to the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.

Aplysia is a genus of medium-sized to extremely large sea slugs, specifically sea hares, which are a kind of marine gastropod mollusk.

Syphonota geographica, or the geographic sea hare, is a species of sea slug or sea hare, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.

Elysia pusilla is a species of small sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is a sacoglossan.

Aplysia dactylomela, the spotted sea hare, is a species of large sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod in the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.

<i>Aplysia juliana</i> Species of gastropod

Aplysia juliana, the walking sea hare, is a species of sea hare, a marine gastropod in the family Aplysiidae.

The spotted sea hare is a species of sea slug in the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares. It reaches a length of up to 20 cm (7.9 in) and is found in the northeast Atlantic, ranging from Greenland and Norway to the Mediterranean Sea.

The dwarf sea hare or pygmy sea hare, Aplysia parvula, is a species of sea hare, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Aplysiidae.

Aplysia vaccaria, also known as the black sea hare and California black sea hare, is a species of extremely large sea slug, a marine, opisthobranch, gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae. It is the largest sea slug species.

Haminoea is a genus of medium-sized sea snails or bubble snails, marine opisthobranch gastropod molluscs in the family Haminoeidae, the haminoea bubble snails, part of the clade Cephalaspidea, the headshield slugs and bubble snails.

Oxynoe antillarum is a species of small sea snail or sea slug, a bubble snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Oxynoidae.

<i>Tethys</i> (gastropod) Genus of gastropods

Tethys is a genus of sea slugs, nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Tethydidae.

Thuridilla gracilis is a species of sea slug, a sacoglossan, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is an Indo-Pacific species that lives in or near coral reefs and eats algae.

Aplysia morio, the Atlantic black sea hare or sooty sea hare, is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares. It lives in warm waters in the Caribbean Sea and off the south and southeastern coast of the United States, where it feeds on seaweed.

<i>Aplysia gigantea</i> Species of mollusc in the family Aplysiidae

Aplysia gigantea is a species of sea slug, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae. The species was first described in the Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia in 1869. A. gigantea is also known more commonly as the sea hare due to their posterior chemosensory tentacles resembling a hare's ear. A. gigantea is the largest known species in Australia of the opisthobranch genus. The species is known to have toxic effects on terrestrial organisms, particularly domestic dogs. Exposure to this species with dogs has been associated with the development of neurotoxicosis, with symptoms ranging from respiratory distress to tremors, muscle fasciculations, and seizures.

References

1 2 Aplysia fasciata Poiret, 1789 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 8 January 2019.
↑ Medina M., Collins T. & Walsh P. J. (2005). "Phylogeny of sea hares in the Aplysia clade based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data". Bulletin of Marine Science 76(3): 691-698. PDF.
1 2 jurisdiction=New South Wales; corporateName=Australian Museum; author=Rudman, W. B. (2010-07-15). "The Sea Slug Forum - Aplysia fasciata". www.seaslugforum.net. Retrieved 2019-01-12.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Abbott, R.T. (1974). American Seashells. 2nd ed. Van Nostrand Reinhold: New York, NY (USA). 663 pp.
Vine, P. (1986). Red Sea Invertebrates. Immel Publishing, London. 224 pp.
Turgeon, D.; Quinn, J.F.; Bogan, A.E.; Coan, E.V.; Hochberg, F.G.; Lyons, W.G.; Mikkelsen, P.M.; Neves, R.J.; Roper, C.F.E.; Rosenberg, G.; Roth, B.; Scheltema, A.; Thompson, F.G.; Vecchione, M.; Williams, J.D. (1998). Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: mollusks. 2nd ed. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, 26. American Fisheries Society: Bethesda, MD (USA). ISBN 1-888569-01-8. IX, 526 + cd-rom pp. (look up in IMIS)

page(s): 122

Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213 (
Martinez E. & Ortea J. (2002). On the synonymy between Aplysia winneba Eales, 1957 and Aplysia fasciata Poiret, 1789 (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia: Anaspidea). Iberus 20(2): 11-21
Rolán E., 2005. Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda.
Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.

External links

Photos of Aplysia fasciata on Sealife Collection

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[WoRMS-1] 1 2 Aplysia fasciata Poiret, 1789 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 8 January 2019.

[2] Medina M., Collins T. & Walsh P. J. (2005). "Phylogeny of sea hares in the Aplysia clade based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data". Bulletin of Marine Science 76(3): 691-698. PDF.

[:0-3] 1 2 jurisdiction=New South Wales; corporateName=Australian Museum; author=Rudman, W. B. (2010-07-15). "The Sea Slug Forum - Aplysia fasciata". www.seaslugforum.net. Retrieved 2019-01-12.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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