California Freshwater Slug?

July 25, 2005
From: Jason Sabo

My family and I recently saw an "enormous" - to quote my 12-year-old daughter slug in a shallow freshwater canal in Venice, California. We were roughly 1 km from the ocean. The slug was 20 cm long and 10 or so wide with a shell-less snail appearance. Most curiously, the animal had two sets of antennae for a total of four.

Locality: Canal, California, USA. Depth: 1 meter. Length: 20 cm. 15 July 2005. Muddy

Jason Sabo

thesabo@hotmail.com

Sabo, J., 2005 (Jul 25) California Freshwater Slug?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14302

Dear John,
My first question would be are you sure it is fresh water? Your description sounds very much like a Sea Hare, such as Aplysia californica. If the canal has a connection to the sea, and the water is salty, then this would be a place some sea hares would be pleased to call home. On the other hand, if it is definitely fresh water, it won't be a slug, because apart from a few rare microscopic species, sea slugs aren't found in fresh water
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Jul 25). Comment on California Freshwater Slug? by Jason Sabo. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14302

Factsheet

What are Sea Hares?

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