Aplysia shell from Majuro

November 29, 2007
From: David Kirsh


I'm wondering if someone can identify this shell from 69 feet on the reef wall outside the boat channel of Majuro in the Marshall Islands.

It's 3.5 mm in length.

Locality: Majuro, 69 feet , Marshall Islands, Pacific, May 2005, reef wall. Length: 3.5mm. Photographer: David Kirsh.

David Kirsh

mediashun@mindspring.com

Kirsh, D., 2007 (Nov 29) Aplysia shell from Majuro. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21181

Dear David,

The shell in sea hares [see Fact Sheet] is in the process of disappearing and  so has becaome a fairly featureless structure. In the genus Aplysia, with few exceptions, it is very difficult to identify shells to the species level. At 3.5 mm in length I suspect your shell is from a juvenile, but to cpmpound thhe problem, juvenile shells are amost impossible to identify to species. The most likely small species your would find is Aplysia parvula and its shell is more elongate in shape and usually quite brown.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Nov 29). Comment on Aplysia shell from Majuro by David Kirsh. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21181

Factsheet

The shell in Sea Hares

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