Sea Hare

Scientific name: Aplysia dactylomela

Updated

29/09/21
Read time

2 minutes

Fast Facts

Classification

Genus

Aplysia

Species

dactylomela

Family

Aplysiidae

Super Family

Aplysioidea

Order

Aplysiida

Subclass

Heterobranchia

Class

Gastropoda

Phylum

Mollusca

Kingdom

Animalia
Size Range

20 cm

There are several sea hare species in the Sydney region. Sometimes reaching 20 cm, these large sea slugs may be difficult to spot at first as they are well camouflaged.

Identification

Sea hares have a soft body, a small internal shell and large 'wings' or parapodia, which can be used for swimming. Once found they are easily identified by the black rings and black lines on their large olive-green body.

Fotoware Image — This unusual looking animal is a marine invertebrate commonly known as a Sea hare or sea slug. When they are active they exhibt two ear like apendages on their head- hence name sea hare. They feed on seaweeds and other algae and are often found in rock pools and shallow marine or brackish environments.They are eaten by a range of fish and can squirt purple ink/dye as a defence mechanism.The hole you can see in this image acts a siphon for moving water into the mantle cavity.
Image: -
© Australian Museum

Habitat

Sea hares live on intertidal rocky shores and in seagrass.

Distribution

Sea hares are found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia

Feeding and diet

Usually found in pools, sea hares are able to swim but prefer to glide over the rocks, feeding on algae with their rasping radula.

Other behaviours and adaptations

If threatened, sea hares release a purple dye that works as a smoke screen, enabling them to escape from predators.

The common name of sea hare refers to their large tentacles, which were thought to resemble the large ears of a hare.

Life history cycle

Sea hares live for about a year and form long chains during mating. In late summer they release their egg masses as long, yellow, spaghetti-like strings.