| 
        
          
            | Mini 
            sea hare Aplysia parvula
 Family Aplysiidae
 updated 
            May 2020
 Where 
            seen? This small, well camouflaged sea hare is seldom spotted.
 
 Features: About 5cm. A long thin 
            body with a pair of small 'wings' in the middle and long oral tentacles 
            and rhinophores. The hole between the wings (called the foramen) is 
            large in this sea hare and is usually ringed in black. In other sea 
            hares, the foramen is microscopic. They come in a wide variety of 
            body colours but usually the 'wings' have a black edge and the tips 
            of the rhinophores and oral tentacles are dark.
 
 It is among the smallest of the Aplysia sea hares, and 'parvus' 
            means 'little'. (It isn't the smallest sea hare: the seagrass 
            seahare (Phyllaplysia sp.) is much smaller).
 
 Sometimes mistaken for the Leaf 
            slug (Elysia ornata) which is not a sea hare but a sap 
            sucking slug. The Leaf slug only has one pair of tentacles and its 
            'wings' are much longer, extending along most of the body length.
 |  
        
          |  Sisters Island, Feb 10
 |  Rhinophore and oral tentacle tips dark.
 Tiny eyes under the rhinophores.
 |  Large foramen ringed in black.
 |  
 
        
          
            | Mini 
      sea hares on Singapore shores |  
 
        
          
            | Other sightings on Singapore shores |  
 
 
         
          | Links 
            
            References 
              Tan Siong 
                Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary 
                  Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore (pdf), Raffles 
              Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore.Debelius, 
                Helmut, 2001. Nudibranchs 
              and Sea Snails: Indo-Pacific Field Guide IKAN-Unterwasserachiv, Frankfurt. 321 pp.Wells, Fred 
                E. and Clayton W. Bryce. 2000. Slugs 
                  of Western Australia: A guide to the species from the Indian to 
                  West Pacific Oceans. 
                Western Australian Museum. 184 pp.Kuiter, Rudie 
                H and Helmut Debelius. 2009. World 
              Atlas of Marine Fauna. IKAN-Unterwasserachiv. 723pp. |  |  |