Blog. The horn-like structures seen on the head of the sea hare are called rhinophores. Sea hares are exclusively herbivores feeding on algae, wrack or sea grass.While the sea hare eats plant parts using its radula (like a terrestrial snail does) it also eats the algae growing on the actual plant.Those can be of different use to the sea hare: So some species can … Sea hare, any marine gastropod of the family Aplysiidae (subclass Opisthobranchia, phylum Mollusca) that is characterized by a shell reduced to a flat plate, prominent tentacles (resembling rabbit ears), and a smooth or warty body.Sea hares eat large seaweeds, and all are simultaneous hermaphrodites. These sea hares are particularly difficult to see as they blend into the environment very well. Aplysiidae is the only family in the superfamily Aplysioidea, within the clade Anaspidea.These animals are commonly called sea hares because, unlike most sea slugs, they are often quite large, and when they are underwater, their rounded body shape and the long rhinophores on their heads mean that their overall shape resembles that of a sitting rabbit or hare. The toxic ink may be white, purple, or red, depending on the pigments in their seaweed food source and lightens in color as it spreads, diluted by seawater. These gastropods, sometimes called sea slugs and sea hares, breathe either through gills, which are located behind the heart, or through the … This is common stuff among sea slugs; they can get all kinds of stuff from their food, from pigments to toxins to … They are closely related to various forms of small aquatic life. Swimming in the sea hare Aplysia brasiliana: Cost of transport, parapodial morphometry, and swimming behavior. Seahorse Physical Characteristics. They don’t have any genetic link to those horses though.

They aren't so keen on mentioning that bit, are they). First they have a face that looks like that of a land horse. Of course that is where the name comes from. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 328 (2006) 76–86 Intertidal Invertebrates of California by Robert Harding Morris. When disturbed, a sea hare can release ink from its ink glands, providing a fluid, smoke-like toxic screen, adversely affecting its predators' olfactory senses while acting as a powerful deterrent. These gastropods, sometimes called sea slugs and sea hares, breathe either through gills, which are located behind the heart, or through the …

(“Rhino” means nose, “phore” means carrier.) This is the most common sea slug found in the inter-tidal region. Donovan DA et al. It is found in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California in the United States and northwestern Mexico. 13 May 2020. The Sea Hare acquires these inky pigments from some of the algae it eats (sure, you are what you eat, but you also squirt out what you eat. The pigments in the red algae contribute to the overall coloration of the sea hare. Sea hares are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female sex organs and this video from National Geographic Wild explains more about their process of reproduction.. A shaggy sea hare. Rhinophores allow these animals to pick up chemical cues in the water, such as those from other sea hares during mating season.

The Anatomy of a Sea Hare By Shonah Banford. Stay connected to your students with Prezi Video, now in Microsoft Teams