Sea Hare

The colour of the spotted sea hare is very variable, from pale gray to green, to dark brown. There are almost always large black rings on the mantle.

Aplysia dactylomela is commonly found in shallow waters, tide pools and rocky and sandy substrates, they also will be found feeding in beds of seagrass. During the day they will mostly hide under large rocks and in crevices. They usually stay in relatively shallow water, but they have been found as deep as 40m. This species of sea hare is cosmopolitan, being found in almost all tropical and temperate seas, including recently the Mediterranean Sea.

The Aplsia dactylomela is capable of swimming and crawling. It accomplishes the former by creating a funnel using the parapodia folded forward and downwards; this action pulls in water. It then pushes the water out from behind the animal by pressing the anterior parts of the parapodia together, thus forward motion is achieved.

The sea hares usual mode of propulsion is crawling; it crawls by lifting the front end of the foot, stretching it forward then placing it on the ground in front, creating an arching pattern; the remainder of the body follows this arching pattern until the tail is reached.

Like the octopus, the Aplysia dactylomela squirts purple ink if it is disturbed; this ink is an irritant that causes altered behavior in other invertebrates and fish. Their leathery skin contains toxins which make this sea hare practically inedible to most predators.