Aplysia fasciata

Aplysia fasciata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Euopisthobranchia
clade Aplysiomorpha
Superfamily: Aplysioidea
Family: Aplysiidae
Genus: Aplysia
Species: A. fasciata
Binomial name
Aplysia fasciata
Poiret, 1789
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Aplysia brasiliana Rang, 1828
  • Aplysia willcoxi Heilprin, 1887
  • Aplysia winneba Eales, 1957
  • Aplysia limacina

Aplysia fasciata, common name the "mottled sea hare", or the "sooty sea hare", is an Atlantic species of sea hare or sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae. [1]

Distribution

This sea hare occurs in the Western Atlantic from New Jersey to Brazil, and in the Eastern Atlantic including the Mediterranean and the West African coast. It is a rare visitor to the seas off the southern British Isles (the related A. punctata is regular along most British coasts, as well as the northeast Atlantic).

Some consider the species Aplysia brasiliana, found in the Atlantic coast of the Americas, to be a synonym of Aplysia fasciata with just a different regional colour pattern.

Description

A sea hare swimming in a tide pool in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal.

The length is up to 40 cm. The color is often black or dark brown with an orange or red line.

References

  1. 1 2 Gofas, S. (2012). Aplysia fasciata Poiret, 1789. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138755 on 2012-03-31
  2. Medina M., Collins T. & Walsh P. J. (2005). "Phylogeny of sea hares in the Aplysia clade based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data". Bulletin of Marine Science 76(3): 691-698. PDF.

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