Sea Slugs & Sea Cucumbers

January 17, 2000
From: Carol Vogelman/Steve Peden

My friend and I are debating on the difference between sea slugs and sea cucumbers and he claims that they are two different things. Could you explain to me? We live in LA in Brentwood and my son found what he thought was a sea cucmber and now we don't know the difference. Steve, my fellow says that there are sea hares at Venice Beach under a bridge that are up to a foot long. What do you know about these?
Thank you for sharing this information!

Carol and Steve

stevenepeden@aol.com

Vogelman, C. & Peden, S., 2000 (Jan 17) Sea Slugs & Sea Cucumbers. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1740

Dear Carol & Steve,
Have a look at the messages on the Sea Cucumber Page for some information on Sea Cucumbers, which are related to starfish and sea-urchins, and quite different from true Sea Slugs. There is also a Page discussing what is a Sea Slug. Sea Slugs are basically a group of marine snails which have either lost their shells or are in the evolutionary process of losing their shells.
Sea Hares are a particular type of Sea Slug. I am not an expert on Californian marine life, but one of the Californian species of Sea Hare, Aplysia vaccaria can grow to a metre in length. I would love to see a photo of such a big animal.

If you go to the list of General Topics you will find more information on these fascinating animals.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Jan 17). Comment on Sea Slugs & Sea Cucumbers by Carol Vogelman/Steve Peden. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1740

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