Big sea hares on Mexican beach

April 2, 2007
From: Benjamin Fisher

My girlfriend and I were vacationing in Cozumel, which is an island off the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. We were walking on the beach, where an estuary lets out into a salty lagoon connected to the ocean. We noticed 4 sea hares washed up on the beach that were still alive but obviously dying. They were about 15 cm long and 5 cm wide. They had an olive green colour with black circles about 1 cm wide randomly placed on their surface. They secreted purple ink when touched. Flaps af skin partly folded over their back but did not cover what appeared to be feathery gills on their back like a nudibranch (seen laying to the side of lower image). Their underside faded into a darker rust colour. The water they were in was calm like a lake and there were no storms that week that might have washed them up. Do you know what they are and why they were on the beach?

Locality: North side of Cozumel Island, 1-2 cm, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Caribbean, 22 March 2007, Intertidal mangrove discharge, sandy with some grass. Length: 15 cm. Photographer: Ben Fisher.

Ben Fisher

spinycheek@hotmail.com

Fisher, B.A., 2007 (Apr 2) Big sea hares on Mexican beach. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19788

Dear Ben,
This is Aplysia dactylomela. It's often difficult to know why animals like this are dying, but at 15 cm, they are probably reaching 'old age'. Another possibility, in shallow lagoonal situations like this, is that high temperatures and shallow water can warm the water up and lower the oxygen available - but both ideas are just guesses. If you look at the General Topics List you will find a section on sea hares. Have a look there for more information on Sea Hares including a page on the mantle cavity and gills etc.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Apr 2). Comment on Big sea hares on Mexican beach by Benjamin Fisher. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19788

Factsheet

Aplysia dactylomela

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