Aplysia juliana

Aplysia juliana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Aplysiida
Superfamily:	Aplysioidea
Family:	Aplysiidae
Genus:	Aplysia
Species:	A. juliana
Binomial name
Aplysia juliana (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832)
Synonyms
Aplysia brunnea Hutton, 1874 [1] Tethys capensisO'Donoghue, 1929

Aplysia juliana, the walking sea hare, is a species of sea hare, a marine gastropod in the family Aplysiidae. ^[2]

Description

This sea hare has no purple gland and therefore cannot produce ink, just milky secretions. The posterior end of the foot in this species can act as a sucker. ^[3]

The color of this sea hare is very often brown with paler spots, but it can be various other shades including plain black all over. ^[4]

The maximum recorded length is 300 mm. ^[5]

Distribution

Distribution of this species is cosmopolitan, circumtropical in all warm seas. ^[6]

A. juliana inhabits tidal pools and seagrass beds, to a depth of 20 metres. ^[7]

Aplysia juliana in rock pool in North Avoca, NSW, Australia

References

1. Hutton F. W. 1874 Description of two new Species of Aplysia. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, volume 7, page 279.
2. Aplysia juliana Quoy & Gaimard, 1832 . 7 October 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
3. jurisdiction=New South Wales; corporateName=Australian Museum; author=Rudman, W. B. (2010-07-15). "The Sea Slug Forum - Aplysia juliana". www.seaslugforum.net. Retrieved 2020-10-23.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
4. jurisdiction=New South Wales; corporateName=Australian Museum; author=Rudman, W. B. (2010-07-15). "The Sea Slug Forum - Aplysia juliana". www.seaslugforum.net. Retrieved 2020-10-23.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
5. Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0008776 .
6. "Aplysia juliana (Quay and Gaimard, 1832) | SURG - Solitary Island Underwater Research Group". www.surg.org.au. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
7. "Aplysia juliana (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832), Sea Hare". Museums Victoria Collections. Retrieved 2020-10-23.

Further reading

• Bebbington A. (1974) Aplysiid species from East Africa with notes on the Indian Ocean Aplysiomorpha (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 54(1): 63–99.
• Bebbington A. (1977) Aplysiid species from Eastern Australia with notes on the Pacific Ocean Aplysiomorpha (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia). Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 34: 87-147
• 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
• Branch, G.M. et al. (2002). Two Oceans. 5th impression. David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg
• 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