Bursatella leachii   de Blainville, 1817

Ragged seahare

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Bursatella leachii  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Bursatella leachii

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Gastropoda | Anaspidea | Notarchidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 7727).  Tropical; 15°C - 30°C (Ref. 81113)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Circumglobal tropical, temperate seas and the Mediterranean Sea.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 81112)

Short description Morphology

This is a medium- to large-sized benthic opisthobranch mollusc. The body is variably colored, grayish-green to white-tan with dark brown blotches and spots, compact and rounded, with distinct head and neck regions evident. The body is also covered with numerous long, branching fleshy papillae that give the animal its ragged appearance. The gill is covered by a pair of fleshy parapodia. Two long retractile olfactory tentacles called rhinophores occur on the head, and also two fleshy enrolled oral tentacles occur at each side of the mouth. Adults completely lack a shell.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Assumed maximum length from Ref. 844. Commonly found in estuaries and tidal swimming pools (Ref. 866). Known from depths of 0 to 30 m (Ref. 7727). It is known to secrete purple ink which is produced from the purple gland, speculated to be a defensive decoy (Ref. 81111). The ink may also be a metabolic by-product in response to eating algae, particularly red algae, as observed with the species under the genus Aplysia (Ref. 81114). Primarily feeds on cyanophytes and diatom mats and films found on sand, mud and other benthic substrata; facultatively it consumes Ectocarpus and Enteromorpha spp. (Ref. 81111).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

This is a cross-fertilizing simultaneous hermaphrodite. This is done through internal fertilization wherein one individual transfers its sperm by its eversible penis on the right side of the head to the gonopore of the other individual on the dorsal side. It then lays spaghetti-like benthic egg masses in orange, yellow, green, or brown colors. This is comprised of capsules that contains 1 to 20 eggs. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of 2 to 3 months. Reproductive season is still undefined (Ref. 125338). Come inshore during March and April to lay its eggs. Copulation goes from several hours to several days. Once the eggs are laid, the adults return to shallow waters to die (Ref. 125338).

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Burn, R. 2006. (Ref. 7727)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses


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Ecology
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Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
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Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
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References
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Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 14 - 29.1, mean 27.3 (based on 4479 cells).
Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.