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iNat·650913SpeciesMollusca0 field observations
  1. Animals
  2. ›Molluscs
  3. ›Gastropods
  4. ›Heterobranchs
  5. ›Euthyneura
  6. ›Tectipleura
  7. ›Sea Hares and Akera Snails
  8. ›Aplysioidea
  9. ›Seahares
  10. ›Aplysia
Aplysia maculata
Plate 1 of 1. S. Rang (Public domain) · via Wikimedia

Aplysia maculata

Aplysia (/əˈplɪʒ(i)ə/) is a genus of medium-sized to extremely large sea slugs, specifically sea hares, which are a kind of marine gastropod mollusk.

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From the article Aplysia maculata on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section

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Description

(Original description in French) The animal is oblong and notably convex, depressed at its base, elongated anteriorly, and obtuse posteriorly. The mantle is smooth, olive-brown with scattered pale spots. It possesses medium-sized lobes, a very open dorsal cavity, a reddish operculum, an elongated siphon, and pink gills. The shell is oval, deeply concave, membranous, and minimally calcareous. It features a small, almost posterior indentation, and its apex is slightly recurved and thick. Both faces of the shell are reddish-brown. Detailed description: The general body form is markedly convex dorsally and elongated at both anterior and posterior extremities, though considerably more so anteriorly. Posteriorly, instead of being acute, the body is rounded. When the animal engages in crawling, its foot extends fully, causing the inferior part of the mantle to depress all around. The anterior tentacles lack any particular distinguishing features. The posterior tentacles are pointed and slightly elongated, though their apices are prone to morphological variation. The eyes are quite apparent. While the mantle lobes are not exceptionally large, it is presumed they can assist in swimming. When the lobes separate, the dorsal opening becomes very wide, revealing a reddish interior cavity, a color especially prominent on the operculum. …

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Where it lives

Recorded sightings

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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.

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Every page naming Aplysia maculata in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →

This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 650913.