MAKING WAVES
Strange slimy sea creatures take over US beaches as they look for a mate with experts warning about threat to your pets
Sea hares have three stomachs and two of them have teeth
A SLIMY and unfamiliar-looking sea creature has been spotted lurking around popular beaches.
Sea hares have left many people in awe over their particular shape due to having an internal shell and slug-like tentacles.
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People have recently seen sea hares on the shorelines of southwest Florida, which is not their usual stomping grounds.
Sea hares usually stay in shallow grassy areas of the bay.
“It looks like a cross between a jellyfish and a shell creature,” beachgoer Ronnie Sullivan told NBC affiliate WBBH on Wednesday.
The sea hare spotting confused beachgoers, who questioned what type of marine creature they saw.
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”I’ve never seen one early in the morning," Sullivan said.
“Is it like a ray because it has wings?”
Dr. Jose H. Leal, the science director and curator at the Bailey-Matthews National Seashell Museum on Sanibel explained the sea hares migrate during mating season, per WBBH.
This is why people are seeing sea hares more often.
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TOXIC INK
Sea hares can also shoot out toxic and harmful ink when they come in contact with other animals.
Leal has warned pet owners to keep their animals away from sea hares.
What is a Sea Hare?
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and National Park Service define a Sea Hare as follows:
- Common names for Aplysia Fasciata include Sooty Sea Hare, Sea Slug, Sooty Inkfish, and Sea Lawn Mower.
- The term "sea hare" originates from the Latin "Lepes Marinus," referring to the creature's tentacle-like structures resembling rabbit ears.
- Sea hares belong to the Gastropoda class within the Mollusca phylum, making them closely related to sea snails and sea slugs.
- Sea hares lack an external shell and only have an internal shell made of protein.
- Despite their name, sea hares use their tentacles to smell, not hear, and they do not have ears.
- Sea hares secrete a toxin in their skin and ink to deter predators, making them potentially harmful if ingested by pets
- While harmless to humans, sea hares should be handled with care to avoid contact with their toxic secretions.
- Sea hares are often found stranded on beaches during low tide and can be gently returned to the water to ensure their survival.
- Their coloration is influenced by the seaweed they consume, with local varieties like the Sooty Sea Hare having brownish-green hues.
- Sea hares produce a bright purple ink with a potent blocking agent, deterring predators by impairing their sense of smell.
- Natural predators of sea hares include anemones, crabs, lobsters, and starfish.
- Pollution and toxic algae blooms pose increasing threats to their survival.
“If they are disturbed, they can release like a purple ink, that keeps predators away,” Leal told WBBH.
“It’s a substance that is toxic to other animals.
“If you’re walking the beach with your small dog, you shouldn’t let them near.”
UNIQUE BODIES
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute said one of their biologists spotted a sea hare in the wild around this time of year in 2019.
In a Facebook post, they explained that sea hares got their name due to the two tentacles on their head “that resemble the ears of a hare.”
The institute described the unique features sea hares have including “two fleshy flaps” from which they breathe.
The fleshy flaps reach across their back and create currents that force water through their gills.
Sea hares are also plant eaters and consume their food through their sucker-like mouths.
They have three stomachs and two of them include teeth to grind up the plants.
The color they take on depends on the color of the seaweed they eat.
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Sea hares have female and male organs.
But need to mate to reproduce and one can lay up to 500 million eggs during a breeding season.
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