Re: Sea Hares in Florida

March 3, 2001
From: Krystal

Dear Bill,
Sorry, but I couldn't get you a picture of my slugs. I went back to the beach the next day and
they were gone :(

They were dark brown, almost black, like the photos of Aplysia brasiliana on the Forum, but the
little one in my fish tank is a lighter brown. They were smooth, not hairy like the ones in Dana's photos.

Krystal

Skavolley@aol.com

Krystal , 2001 (Mar 3) Re: Sea Hares in Florida. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3901

Dear Krystal,
Thanks for trying. Often these mass 'swarming' events only last a couple of days or so. From your description I am sure you had Aplysia brasiliana rather than Bursatella leachi which Dana found.

And why did both species do this at the same time? I guess they both have a similar breeding cycle which would have produced a buildup of breeding adults at the same time. Probably the same environmental conditions, spring tides, high temperature and/or inshore winds for example resulted in large numbers being washed up on the beaches.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Note added March 9, 2001: This is A. morio not A. brasiliana. See message. A. morio is an uniform dark brown or black while A. brasiliana has a mottled colour pattern of dark and light brown.

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Mar 3). Comment on Re: Sea Hares in Florida by Krystal . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3901

Factsheet

Aplysia morio

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