Bursatella leachii


Bursatella leachii, common name the ragged sea hare or shaggy sea hare, is a species of large sea slug or sea hare, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.

Distribution

This is a circumtropical sea hare, the only species in its genus. It occurs in the intertidal zone and down to at least 10 m on coastal areas of the Indo-West Pacific oceans, the Caribbean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Description

Bursatella leachii is green to greenish brown. It has a broad and short head. Its mantle is covered with e, which give it a thorny aspect. The mantle has a network-like pattern with blue eyespots in black spots and green areas. It moves slowly on a broad foot. There is short, sharp tail. The short parapodia are fused on their rear end.
The maximum recorded length is 120 mm.

Ecology

The species is usually found in estuaries and tidal pools, and more rarely on sandy bottoms. The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0 m; maximum recorded depth is 7 m. This sea hare may be found in dense concentrations or singly. It is herbivorous. The species lays egg ribbons in long green stringy tangles.

Subspecies

All subspecies are considered synonyms of Bursatella leachii