Mystery brown-black slug from West Australia

January 31, 2003
From: Julie Robertson

Today, [30 January, 2003] whilst walking along Cottelsoe Beach in Perth, Western Australia we came across a large dark brown/ black sea slug washed up on the beach. It was about the size of a large hand fist and initially looked like a large blob of tar washed up. However we saw then it was moving and was a large slug type creature and we put it back into the sea. I know absolutely nothing about these creatures and was wondering if anyone could help identify this.
Many thanks,
Julie

jools1968@hotmail.com

Dear Julie,
I'm pretty sure your 'brown blob' was a Sea Hare, and the most likely Sea Hare for you to find in Perth would be Aplysia gigantea. Have a look at the Fact Sheet and the other messages on this page for more information on this species, and go to the Sea Hare page for links to more information on the Forum on this fascinating group of animals.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Jan 31). Comment on Mystery brown-black slug from West Australia by Julie Robertson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9110

Factsheet

Aplysia gigantea

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