Phyllaplysia taylori

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Phyllaplysia taylori
Phyllaplysia taylori.jpg
A live individual of Phyllaplysia taylori, head end towards the right
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
clade Euthyneura
clade Euopisthobranchia
clade Aplysiomorpha
Family:
Genus:
Species:
P. taylori
Binomial name
Phyllaplysia taylori
Dall, 1900

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, .

A more general description of sea hares can be found on the page of the superfamily Aplysioidea.

Distribution[]

This species occurs on the Pacific Coast of the US, occurring from British Columbia, Canada, to San Diego, CA, USA

Description[]

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[]

Possible predators include sunfish and sea stars of the genus Solaster.

References[]

External links[]


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