Dolabella auricularia in the South China Sea

April 17, 2003
From: Kheong San Chang


Dear Bill,
Can you tell me what this big animal is? Saw him in about 7m of water on the night dive from the shore at Layang Layang, 27 March. He is about a foot long and quite ugly. It is difficult to see details from the photo, but he also had a kind of spout on his back. similar to a nudi's gills, but looked just like a tube.

[300 km northwest of Sabah's capital Kota Kinabalu in the South China Sea, Layang Layang, known as Swallows Reef]

Kheong.

kschan@mail.dsi.nus.edu.sg

Chang, K.S., 2003 (Apr 17) Dolabella auricularia in the South China Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9639

Dear Kheong,
This is the Sea Hare Dolabella auricularia. They are not the most beautiful sea slug and do grow to quite a large size. If you look at the Fact Sheet, and other messages on this page you will find quite a bit of information on this animal. It differs from most species of Aplysia in having very small parapodia whih tightly enclose the mantle cavity in which the gill sits. The tube or spout you mention is the exhalent water siphon which expels water out of the mantle cavity. It is also the way faeces are removed from the anus. At the front of the mantle cavity the edge of the parapodia fold to form an inhalent siphon forming a funnel for water to enter the mantle cavity.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Apr 17). Comment on Dolabella auricularia in the South China Sea by Kheong San Chang. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9639

Factsheet

Dolabella auricularia

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