Bursatella leachii

Taxobox
name = "Bursatella leachii"


image_caption =
image_width =
status = secure
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Gastropoda
ordo = Opisthobranchia
subordo = Anaspidea
superfamilia = Aplysioidea
familia = Aplysiidae
genus = "Bursatella"
genus_authority = Blainville, 1817
species = "B. leachii"
binomial = "Bursatella leachii"
binomial_authority = Blainville, 1817

"Bursatella leachii", or the ragged sea hare or shaggy sea hare, is a species of large sea slug or sea hare, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae.

Range of distribution

This is a circumtropical sea hare, the only species in its genus. It occurs in the intertidal zone on coastal areas of the Indo-West Pacific oceans, the Caribbean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Description

"Bursatella leachii" is green to greenish brown. It has a broad and short head. Its mantle is covered with e (finger-like outgrowths), which give it a thorny aspect. The mantle has a network-like pattern with blue eyespots (ocelli) in black spots and green areas. It moves slowly on a broad foot. There is short, sharp tail. The short parapodia (fleshy, winglike outgrowths) are fused on their rear end.

The length is up to 15 cm but usually between 5 and 10 cm.

A more general description of the sea hares can be found on the pages of superfamily Aplysioidea and the suborder Anaspidea.

External links

* [http://www.umiushi.info/HTML_eng/Bursatellaleachii.html Images]