Aplysia dactylomela from Montego Bay, Jamaica

November 13, 2009
From: Semra Halabi

Hi i wonder if anyone could help us.

We have just got back from our holiday in Jamaica, One lovely morning while taking my baby down on the beach we came across the 2 things thinking they were jelly fish. I scooped them up in my babies bucket so my baby wouldn't get stung (they looked dead ) so i threw them back into the sea 10 minutes later they were back again so i scooped them back up and took them to my husband to show him what we found so he could go deeper near to the corals to release them later, my husband told me when he released them they grew double there size and looked like they had wings.

Locality: Montego bay, on the beach, Jamaica, 22 october 2009, clear water. Length: 1 - 2 inches. Photographer: Semra Halabi

Could any one tells us what they are and were they dangerous.
Thanks
Semra

semrahalabi@hotmail.com

Halabi, S., 2009 (Nov 13) Aplysia dactylomela from Montego Bay, Jamaica. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22774

Dear Semra,

Your animal is a Sea Hare. Use the menu list on the top left of the page to have a look at the General Topics for a list of links to information on this group of sea slugs. You will see that Sea Hares ofte have wing-like flaps on the side of their bodies which in some species are used for swimming. Your species is Aplysia dactylomela, which has large black rings on its skin. These balck rings are particularly noticeable in Caribbean animals. 

Sea Hares do not sting or bite, and so are essentially harmless. There is one large species in Western Australia, A. gigantea, which sometimes washes up on beaches. We don't know why, but dogs who bite these washed up sea hares can sometimes be badly poisoned, apparently by something in the slug's skin. However I know of no other reports around the world of a Sea Hare being blamed for anything untoward.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2009 (Nov 13). Comment on Aplysia dactylomela from Montego Bay, Jamaica by Semra Halabi. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22774

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Aplysia dactylomela

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