Florida Seahare Species (for reference)

A. brasiliana is the mottled/sooty species that occurs in the US and across the western Atlantic. A. fasciata is the eastern Atlantic species, according to WoRMS (Jan 2021)
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=160029
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138755

Looking at previous observations and identifications, it seems that WoRMS used to consider brasiliana and fasciata synonyms. When this was changed, none of the IDs on iNat were changed.

Florida Aplysia species:
Mottled Seahare: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/122174-Aplysia-brasiliana
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=160029
*patterned skin in beiges and browns. Can vary in luminance dramatically. Swims. Probably most common species sighted in FL.

Spotted Seahare https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50543-Aplysia-dactylomela
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138753
*identifiable by black open circles (not spots) on skin. Crawls, does not swim. Very common in FL Keys.

Walking Seahare https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/49855-Aplysia-juliana
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138756
*looks like A. brasiliana, but it doesn’t swim. It crawls along substrates. Not recorded in the gulf on iNat. Could be cases of misidentification?

Atlantic Black Seahare https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/253929-Aplysia-morio
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=160031
*dark/black with no patterning on the skin.

A. Parvula - not since 2019 paper. Generally agreed to not be a FL species.
https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/187/2/279/5509942
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138757

Other common seahares:
Ragged Seahare (Bursatella leachii)
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50559-Bursatella-leachii
*does not swim. Has ragged appearance when submerged, but looks semi-smooth when out of water. Common on sandbars and mudflats.

Eggs:
Can the eggs of any of these species be differentiated?? I am unclear on this at this point in time.

Publicado el 31 de enero de 2021 a las 11:40 PM por emjtca