molluscs text index | photo index
Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > sea slugs
Photo index of sea slugs on Singapore shores
slugs without external gills
body in two flaps or 'wings' (called parapodia)


Halimeda slug

Elysia pusilla

Seagrass sea hare
Phyllaplysia
sp.
     
0.5-1.5cm. Body oval, flat, featureless. On Halimeda seaweed, usually the same colour as the seaweed. Sometimes seen on some of our shores. 1cm or less. Long narrow, flat translucent body with fine white lines. Two pairs of tentacles. On Tape seagrasses. Sometimes seen on some of our shores.      

Ornate leaf slug
Elysia ornata

Woolly leaf slug
Elysia
sp.

Mangrove leaf slug
Elysia bangtawensis
 

Sargassum nudibranch
Crosslandia sp.
4-6cm. One pair of tentacles. Body long with large parapodia that have black and orange margins and black spots. Colours vary, usually green. Among green seaweeds. Commonly seen at some times of the year on many of our shores. 1.5-2cm. One pair of tentacles. Body long with large parapodia and with tiny bumps so it appears woolly. Sometimes seen on some of our shores. 4-5cm. One pair of tentacles. Body long with large parapodia. Green with tiny white spots all over, yellow or orange spots along body edges. Sometimes seen in our mangroves.   About 3cm long. It has a pair of 'flaps' (mantle lobes) in the middle of the body. Rhinophores tiny, brush-like and at the tip of a huge rhinophore stalk. Along the sides of the body it has a few bright blue spots and white spikes. Seen among Sargassum seaweeds.

Thuridilla slug
Thuridilla
sp.

Lined
tailed-slug

Tubulophilinopsis
lineolata

Batik
tailed-slug

Philinopsis
cf. pilsbryi

Reticulated
tailed-slug

Philinopsis
reticulata

Black
tailed-slug

Chelidonura
sp.
1-2cm. One pair of tentacles. Body long with short parapodia. Dark with white stripes and orange edges and tentacle tips. More often seen by divers, sometimes on intertidal near reefs on our Southern shores. 2-3cm. Fine dark and light horizontal lines, blue margins on front and back edges of the body. Seagrasses. Sometimes seen at Cyrene Reef. 2-3cm. Batik pattern, no blue markings on front and back edges of 'wings' folded over the body. Seagrasses, near living reefs. Sometimes seen on some of our shores. 2-3cm. Dark with fine pale spots, black margins with white blobs on front and back edges of the body. Seagrasses. Sometimes seen at Cyrene Reef. 1-2cm. All black or black with other colours, one much longer tail. Seagrasses. Sometimes seen at Cyrene Reef.

Mini sea hare
Aplysia parvula
   

Long-tailed
hairy sea hare

Stylocheilus
sp.

Hairy sea hare
Bursatella leachii
5-6cm. Two pairs of tentacles. Body thin and long with small parapodia with black margins. Colours vary. Sometimes seen on our Southern shores.     5-8cm. Two pairs of tentacles, oral tentacles and rhinophores about the same size. Body long, 'hairy' with blue spots. Unlike B. leachii, also have fine lines along the length of the body. Near reefs and rubble. Sometimes seen on some of our shores. 6-12cm. Two pairs of tentacles, oral tentacles and rhinophores about the same size. Body long, 'hairy' with blue spots. Well camouflaged. Seagrass areas. Commonly seen at some times of the year on some of our shores.

Extraordinary sea hare
Aplysia extraordinaria

Spotted sea hare
Aplysia oculifera

Geographic sea hare
Syphonota geographica

Black-tailed sea hare
Aplysia dactylomela
 
8-10cm. Two pairs of tentacles, large flappy oral tentacles. Body oval, smooth, brownish with small white spots. Inner surface of parapodia with white bars. Among seagrasses near reefs. Sometimes seen on some of our shores. 8-10cm. Two pairs of tentacles, large flappy oral tentacles and smaller rhinophores. Body long smooth with small white spots. Inner surface of parapodia have fine white bars made up of dots. Seagrasses. Commonly seen on our Northern shores. 8-12cm. Two pairs of tentacles: large flappy oral tentacles, rhinophores tiny, near one another, in between the parapodia. Body smooth. Olive green with fine spots in pattern of bars. Seagrasses, sometimes half buried. Seasonally common on our Northern shores. 10-15cm. Two pairs of large tentacles. Body long, smooth with pattern of dark eye-like rings and fine black lines. A dark tail. Inner surface of parapodia with large white spots.Near reefs. Somtimes seen on our Southern shores.

These are NOT sea slugs

Hoof-shield limpet
Phylum Mollusca

Cowries
Phylum Mollusca
Family Cypraeidae
     

how to tell apart



photo index of
molluscs on this site
Phylum Mollusca
all molluscs

sea slugs

external gills
body features
  small <5cm
large >5cm
very large >10cm

no external gills
body features
  two flaps
with bumps
hairy
smooth
external shell
others
links | references | about | email Ria
Spot errors? Have a question? Want to share your sightings? email Ria I'll be glad to hear from you!
wildfactsheets website©ria tan 2008