| Dwarf sea hare Aplysia parvula |
|
|---|---|
| Aplysia parvula | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Euopisthobranchia clade Aplysiomorpha |
| Superfamily: | Aplysioidea |
| Family: | Aplysiidae |
| Genus: | Aplysia |
| Species: | A. parvula |
| Binomial name | |
| Aplysia parvula Guilding in Mørch, 1863[1] |
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The dwarf sea hare or pygmy sea hare, Aplysia parvula, is a species of sea slug, specifically a sea hare, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.
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This is a circumtropical sea hare. It usually occurs in less than 5 m of water, but is occasionally found in water as deep as 24 m.[2]
The type locality of Aplysia parvula is Saint Vincent, Lesser Antilles.[1]
The dwarf sea hare is round-bodied and smooth-skinned with a slender head bearing extensions which resemble rabbit ears. There are wing-like flaps (parapodia) extending from the body, which is brown to maroon or olive green in colour and may be covered with clusters of white spots.[3]
The maximum recorded length is 60 mm.[4]
The length is up to 7 cm.
Minimum recorded depth is 0.5 m.[4] Maximum recorded depth is 30 m.[4]
The species is a herbivore, and feeds on different types of algae. Its egg mass is a tangled mass of sticky orange, green or brown strings found under rocks or among algae.[3]