Are sea slugs poisonous?

January 5, 2007
From: Tess

Yesterday at low tide there were two sea slugs in the sand! I put them together and I think they started to mate! One of them started to spray ink! and the other slowly started to go onto the other one! In this question I'm asking how to identify the difference between a female and male or if there is even a difference and if the ink from them or the sea slug is poisonous!

Locality: Corlette, New South Wales, Australia, Pacific Ocean, 02 January 2007, Low Tide. 

Tess

tessy_hotstuff92@hotmail.com

Tess, 2007 (Jan 5) Are sea slugs poisonous?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19115

Dear Tess,
If your slugs started to produce ink then they were a group of slugs we call Sea Hares. If you go to the General Topics Index you will see a list of Fact Sheets on these animals including one on their inking behaviour and one on their mating behaviour. All sea slugs are hermaphrodite, which means they are fully functional males and females.

Sea Hares are not usually considered poisonous, although it is probably not good to eat them. There is a large species in Western Australia however that has been known to kill dogs. Have a look at the messages listed under the Fact Sheet on Aplysia gigantea for reports of dog poisoning.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jan 5). Comment on Are sea slugs poisonous? by Tess. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19115

Factsheet

What are Sea Hares?

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