Sea hare from Florida

May 14, 2001
From: Marjorie Pardun

Hello,
The other day, May 6, on the beach in Jupiter Island, Florida we were walking and we found washed up on the shore a species of something I have never seen before. I am an avid and frequent beachcomber. The creature was dark brown to black it was oval shaped it looked as though it had horns, somewhat like a slug, hence I typed in sea slug for my search, it had a wavy area which spread horizontally across its body and moved in a waving motion. It seemed harmless since we threw many back into the surf. However, once we noticed a purple color exudate from it, which washed off easily. I wonder if you could tell me what it may be?
Marjorie Pardun

MarGeo27@earthlink.net

Pardun, M, 2001 (May 14) Sea hare from Florida. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4315

Dear Marjorie,
Your animal was a Sea Hare, and almost certainly a species called Aplysia morio. The purple ink is ver characteristic of sea hares and as you will if you look above and below your message, this species is quite common in Florida.

To find more general information just click on any underlined word and it will take you to a relevant page. There are quite a few links to other pages on the Sea Hares page. Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (May 14). Comment on Sea hare from Florida by Marjorie Pardun. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4315

Factsheet

Aplysia morio

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