Phyllaplysia taylori
| Phyllaplysia taylori | |
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| A live individual of Phyllaplysia taylori, head end towards the right | |
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| Species: | P. taylori
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| Binomial name | |
| Phyllaplysia taylori Dall, 1900
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Phyllaplysia taylori, synonym Phyllaplysia zostericola, common names the "eelgrass sea hare" and "Taylor's sea hare", is a species of sea slug, specifically a sea hare, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae, the sea hares.
Some authors place this genus in a separate family, Dolabriferidae.
A more general description of sea hares can be found on the page of the superfamily Aplysioidea.
Distribution[edit]
This species occurs on the Pacific Coast of the US, occurring from British Columbia, Canada, to San Diego, CA, USA
Description[edit]
Two color morphs of this sea hare have been observed, bright green, and yellow, with characteristic black and white stripes (see Beeman 1970 for more complete description)
This is a rather primitive species. It has a dorsally flattened body, it is well camouflaged, being found almost exclusively on eelgrass, Zostera marina. It grazes on epiphytes that settle on Zostera blades - sponges and diatoms.
Predators[edit]
Possible predators include sunfish and sea stars of the genus Solaster.
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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