Sea Hares - what are they?

April 14, 1998
From: Rhiana N. VanDoren

I would like to know if a Sea Hare is considered a sea slug. If so do you have any information on them? I went to Sea World today, and I was fascinated by them. I would like it if you could E-mail me some pictures and info. on them. Some of my questions are: Are they a form of sea slug? What do they eat? What eat's them? Can they be pets? If so how would you care for one? What type of water do they live in? Where could I get info on the sea hare?

I would appreciate it if you sent me a little info on this creature.
Thank-you.

Rhiana N. VanDoren.
Santee, California, USA

ree3@home.com

VanDoren, R.N., 1998 (Apr 14) Sea Hares - what are they?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/145

"Sea Hares" is the common name for a large group (Order ANASPIDEA) of herbivorous sea slugs most of which belong to the genus Aplysia. The common name was used as far back as the time of Aristotle in Ancient Greece where the Mediterranean species was likened to a sitting Hare, the large parapodia resembling the rounded back of the hare, and the rhinopores or head tentacles resembling the hare's ears. The Greeks and Romans, following fanciful accounts recorded by Aristotle, considered these animals to be poisonous to the touch, which is nonsense. Some, but not all species produce a purple ink when disturbed or stood on (see comments on Sea Hares - attack & defence), but it is not particularly toxic and despite some claims that it is a defence mechanism, like the ink of an Octopus, there is no evidence to support the idea.

Can they be pets? If you mean can they be kept in captivity, the answer is that they can be easily maintained in aquaria. However because they eat sea weeds, which are very difficult to keep alive in small aquaria it is not very practical to keep them at home, although in a recent message I received from Melanie Carver she feeds Aplysia californica on the Sea Lettuce Ulva, and has discovered they will survive on ordinary lettuce if nothing else is available. In large research establishments with aquarium systems with circulating sea water etc, Sea Hares are easy to maintain and breed. In recent years Sea Hares have become very important laboratory animals for the study of the brain and nervous system. They have a relatively simple "brain" which consists of small clumps of nerve cells (ganglia) in which the individual cells are easy to see. It is therefore easy to study the workings of individual brain cells to find our how more complex brains like ours may have evolved. A good place for information about this research is at The Aplysia Hometank.

I have included pictures of some Sea Hares here. If you search for "Aplysia" on some of the websites I have listed in the Sea Slug Forum, you should find some more. Also look under ORDER ANASPIDEA in our SPECIES LIST and under Sea Hares in the GENERAL TOPICS for more information .... Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Apr 14). Comment on Sea Hares - what are they? by Rhiana N. VanDoren. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/145

Factsheet

What are Sea Hares?

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