Aplysia sydneyensis G. B. Sowerby II, 1869

Description

A small to medium-sized sea hare, typically 50-100 mm in length, smaller than some other Australian Aplysia species. Ground colour is greenish-brown to greyish-brown, scattered with irregular darker or lighter blotches. The parapodia do not meet over the dorsum, so that the mantle cavity remains visible from above. Pale rims sometimes outline the rhinophores and eyes.

Distribution

Type locality: Tasman Sea near Sydney, Australia. The species occurs in seagrass and weed beds along temperate south-eastern Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania).

Etymology

The specific epithet sydneyensis refers to the type locality of Sydney, formed with the Latin toponymic suffix "-ensis".

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References

• Aplysia sydneyensis sp. nov., Sowerby G.B. II (1869). Monograph of the genus Aplysia. In: Reeve L.A. (ed.), Conchologia Iconica, or, Illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 17. L. Reeve & Co., London. [August 1869]