Doubts about Aplysia brasiliana

June 5, 2001
From: Luis Ernesto Arruda

Dear Dr. Rudman,
Could you please help me with a problem? I found a sea hare in Northeast Brazil that I think is Aplysia brasiliana. It is 5cm long. However, this sea hare released an egg mass in the aquarium. So, my doubt is: is it possible that A. brasiliana is sexually mature at such a small size?

I am a university student and have been studying Aplysia for 3 years. I am study the seasonal cycle of A. dactylomela in two beaches of northeastern Brazil, and the relation between purple ink and seaweeds.
Cordially,
Luis Ernesto

luis_ernesto2@yahoo.com.br

Arruda, L.E., 2001 (Jun 5) Doubts about Aplysia brasiliana. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4459

Dear Luis Ernesto,
I am not sure how big Aplysia brasiliana is before it is mature enough to lay eggs. In other species, animals begin laying eggs at quite a small size. For example Aplysia kurodai is reported to lay eggs from 31g to 131g (Yusa, 1994). Size is also not a very good indication of age. Animals born early in the growing season tend to grow more slowly than animals that settle into a population later in the season. Late arrivals grow to maturity very quickly but are often only half the size of animals which have been in the population for a longer time when they start laying eggs(Gev, et al, 1984).

So basically your animal may be a late settling A. brasiliana. Check out some other identifying features such as does it swim? does it produce purple ink? These are not exclusive characters of A. brasiliana but if it doesn't do one, or both these things, then it is unlikely to be A. brasiliana.

I would be interested to hear of your work on sea hare ink and algae.

• Gev, S., Achituv, Y. & Susswein, A.J. (1984) Seasonal determinants of the life cycle in two species of Aplysia found in shallow waters along the Mediterranean coast of Israel. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 74: 67-83.
• Yusa, Y. (1994) Size-related egg productin in a simultaneous Hermaphrodite, the sea-hare Aplysia kurodai Baba (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia). Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 36(4): 249-254.
• Yusa, Y. (1996) The effects of body size on mating features in a field population of the hermaphroditic sea hare Aplysia kurodai Baba, 1937 (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia). J. Moll. Stud. 62: 381-386.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Jun 5). Comment on Doubts about Aplysia brasiliana by Luis Ernesto Arruda. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4459

Factsheet

Aplysia brasiliana

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