Dangerous to dogs, yes, but what about to people?

April 13, 2005
From: John Vincent

Hello,
I have a question that has not been answered in the Forum. I live in Key Biscayne, Florida, and we tend to have a large population of sea hares. I have read in your Forum that the sea hare can be poisonous to dogs and to people that may eat them without properly cleaning them. My question, is, are they dangerous or poisonous to people (mainly children) if one was to pick up a sea hare, or play with it in the water, without any protection, such as gloves?

Thanks for the info, and your Forum is a great search tool. Keep up the great work.

An avid reader, and marine enthusiast,

John Vincent Gomez-Iglesias
Key Biscayne, Florida

JohnVincentGI@aol.com

Vincent, J., 2005 (Apr 13) Dangerous to dogs, yes, but what about to people?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13509

Dear John,
Species of Sea Hares are found throughout the world, often in large numbers. In Florida, the two common species are Aplysia brasiliana and Aplysia morio. The strange thing is that it is only the Western Australian species, Aplysia gigantea, which has been accused of poisoning dogs. There have been a few accounts of Dolabella auricularia causing food poisoning, but it is suspected that it the result of some posionous algae in the internal organs. In general, Sea Hares are quite harmless, and are often favourite items in 'touch tanks' for children in aquarium displays. In our litigious world I am sure if there was any evidence of them causing harm to kids, someone would have sued by now. I don't know how many I have picked up alive without gloves or how many students over the years I have been with who have picked them up, but except for the special cases mentioned above, I would have no hesitation in saying they are harmless.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Apr 13). Comment on Dangerous to dogs, yes, but what about to people? by John Vincent. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13509

Factsheet

What are Sea Hares? - page 2

Related messages

  1. Aplysia from Bay of Bengal
    From: Rajesh Kumar, May 5, 2010
  2. Re: Food of Aplysia from Hawaii
    From: Kate Werner, January 13, 2009
  3. Re: Food of Aplysia from Hawaii
    From: Kate Werner, January 12, 2009
  4. Re: Aplysia brasiliana from Texas, Gulf of Mexico
    From: Georgia Doyle, October 9, 2008
  5. Strange phenomenon with Sea Hare
    From: Ute Duvenhage, February 19, 2008
  6. Re: Sea hare being eaten by crab - Reunion Is.
    From: Hugues Flodrops, February 9, 2008
  7. Re: Slugs of my childhood - Baja California
    From: Jeff Goddard, November 10, 2005
  8. Slugs of my childhood - Baja California
    From: Alicia Sarun, November 9, 2005
  9. Why are they called Sea Hares?
    From: Bill Rudman, May 14, 2005
  10. Unknown worm mass
    From: Rick Eastwood, February 10, 2004
  11. Sea Hares - strange behaviour.
    From: Krista Recsei, January 12, 2004
  12. Aplysia in Thailand
    From: Dunyaporn Trachootham, December 1, 2003
  13. Re: Sea Hares and Red Tides
    From: Josh Anderson, November 20, 2003
  14. Sea Hares & Red Tides
    From: Josh Anderson, November 19, 2003
  15. Re: Sea Hare from Hawaii
    From: Dee Wamock, October 8, 2003
  16. Sea Hare eggs
    From: Angie Jones, September 12, 2003
  17. Sea Hare from Hawaii
    From: Dee Wamock, August 25, 2003
  18. Are Sea Hares in Mexico edible?
    From: Pepe Herrera, August 11, 2003
  19. Sea Hares [Aplysia] in Channel Ids
    From: Stephen R Hoskins, February 18, 2002
  20. Genetic phylogeny of Aplysia in the UK
    From: Stephen Hoskings, February 8, 2002
  21. Genetic Studies of Sea Slugs
    From: Eric Diano, March 26, 2001
  22. Information about Sea Hares
    From: Ray and Danny, March 12, 2001
  23. Overview of Aplysia reproduction
    From: Moira Rankin, December 30, 2000
  24. Sea Hares & egg laying
    From: L. Rivard, October 17, 2000
  25. Participant information
    From: Sara Black, October 5, 2000
  26. Where can I find an Aplysia book?
    From: Suzanne Grosso-Mennecke, September 29, 2000
  27. Sea Hares and Tide Pools
    From: Will Akers, September 24, 2000
  28. More Sea Slug Hitchhikers
    From: Andrew Trevor-Jones, September 23, 2000
  29. I need information on Sea Hares
    From: Chantelle, July 13, 2000
  30. Learning in Aplysia
    From: Raphaël Favre, June 29, 2000
  31. Swimming Aplysia from Philippines
    From: Erwin Koehler, June 24, 2000
  32. Galapagos Sea Hare
    From: Mark Blum, June 19, 2000
  33. Sea Hares from the Red Sea
    From: Alaa youssry Moustafa, May 25, 2000
  34. 'Teeth' in the gut of Bursatella
    From: Jack Rudloe, March 10, 2000
  35. Aplysia Osmoregulation
    From: Myrtle, February 25, 2000
  36. Aplysia from Japan
    From: Yasuhiro Shirai, February 17, 2000
  37. Anatomy of Aplysia
    From: Sylvia E. Jones, January 28, 2000
  38. What is this?
    From: FAbienne Bovis, January 3, 2000
  39. Sea Hare information
    From: alexis, November 13, 1999
  40. Where in Europe is Aplysia available ?
    From: Ulrich Storz, November 7, 1999

Show factsheet and all related messages