Aplysia sowerbyi
| Aplysia sowerbyi | |
|---|---|
| Live specimen of Aplysia sowerbyi | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Aplysiida |
| Family: | Aplysiidae |
| Genus: | Aplysia |
| Species: | A. sowerbyi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Aplysia sowerbyi Pilsbry, 1895
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Aplysia (Varria) sowerbyi Pilsbry, 1895 | |
Aplysia sowerbyi is a species of gastropod mollusc in the genus Aplysia, family Aplysiidae.[1]
Description
(Original description) The animal is olive-colored, mottled with black.
The shell measures 22 x 16 mm. The shell is internal, thin, horn-colored, and oblong, produced and curved at the apex. The shell is oblong, thin, somewhat trigonal, pale, oblique, and hatchet-shaped. It is arched and swollen (tumid), with sinuous striations near the umbones. The interior is thinly testaceous.
The apex is elevated and incurved, bearing a small, widely reflected callus. The upper margin slopes downward, being arched and excavated, and rounded at the extremity. The outer lip is sinuously produced anteriorly, while the dorsal margin is obliquely arched and excavated. The lower portion of the dorsal margin, corresponding to the siphonal canal in spiral shells, is deeply excavated. This species is believed to be the one to which Pliny first applied the name Lepus marinus— the "sea hare."[2]
Distribution
This marine species is endemic to Australia and occurs off New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria.
References
- ^ Aplysia sowerbyi Pilsbry, 1895. 7 October 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species.
- ^ Pilsbry, H.A. (1895–1896). Manual of conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species. Ser. 1. Vol. 16: Philinidae, Gastropteridae, Aglajidae, Aplysiidae, Oxynoeidae, Runcinidae, Umbraculidae, Pleurobranchidae. Vol. Ser.1, v.16. Philadelphia: Conchological Section, Academy of Natural Sciences. p. 89. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Nimbs, M.J., Willan R.C. & Smith S.D.A. 2017b. A Historical Summary of the Distribution and Diet of Australian Sea Hares (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia: Aplysiidae). Zoological Studies 56: 35
External links
- Eales, N.B. (1960). "Revision of the world species of Aplysia". Bulletin of the British Museum, Natural History (Zoology. 5 (10): 360. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- Burn, R.F. (2006). "A checklist and bibliography of the Opisthobranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Victoria and the Bass Strait area, south-eastern Australia" (PDF). Museum Victoria Science Reports. 10.
- Nimbs M. J., Willan R. C. & Smith S. D. A. (2017). "Is Port Stephens, eastern Australia, a global hotspot for biodiversity of Aplysiidae (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia)?". Molluscan Research. 37 (1): 47–65.
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