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© 2010 Ocean & Coastal Care Initiatives
© 2007 Ocean & Coastal Care Initiatives
Welcome to the feature creature page. Here you will find short articles on different marine creatures. A new article will be featured each month.
Sea Hares
There are several species of Sea Hares on the Central Coast, which are a type of sea slug and range in size from 4 to 20 cm.
They may be difficult to spot at first as they have great camouflage and blend in with the seaweed they are feeding on. Once seen, they are easily identified by the black rings and lines on their bodies and the four sets of tentacles on their heads.
They have a soft body, a small internal shell and large ‘wings’ called parapodia, which can be used for swimming.
Sea Hares are herbivorous and are found in rock pools where seaweed is growing. They are able to swim but prefer to glide over rocks, using their rasping radula (tongue) to eat algae they find there. They have and extremely good sense of smell by using receptor tentacles on top of their heads. When threatened, they release a purple or milky dye that acts as a smoke screen, enabling them to escape from inquisitive fish. Their skin contains a toxin that makes them inedible to most predators.
Sea Hares live for about a year, and form long chains of individuals during mating. In late summer they lay their egg masses which look, orange strands of spaghetti. The common name of Sea Hares refers to the large tentacles on the head which were thought to look like the ears of a hare.
Written by Robyn Aitkens
Photographs by Chris Roberts