Notes Wikipedia:The clade Aplysiomorpha commonly known as sea hares are medium-sized to very large sea slugs with a soft internal shell made of protein. These are marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamilies Aplysioidea and Akeroidea.The common name "sea hare" derives from their rounded shape and from the two long rhinophores that project upwards from their heads and that somewhat resemble the ears of a hare.Sea hares are mostly rather large, bulky creatures. The biggest species, Aplysia vaccaria, can reach a length of 75 centimetres (30 in) and a weight of 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) and is arguably the largest gastropod species.
Sea hares have soft bodies with an internal shell, and like all opistobranch mollusks they are hermaphroditic. Unlike many other gastropods, they are more or less bilaterally symmetrical in their external appearance. The foot has lateral projections, or "parapodia."Sea hares are herbivore/herbivorous, and are typically found on seaweed in shallow water. It seems to be the case that some young sea hares are capable of burrowing in soft sediment leaving only their rhinophores and mantle opening showing. Sea hares have an extremely good sense of smell. They can follow even the faintest scent using their rhinophores, which are extremely sensitive chemoreceptors.Their color corresponds with the color of the seaweed they eat: red sea hares have been feeding on red seaweed. This camouflages them from predators. When disturbed, a sea hare can release ink from its ink glands, providing a potent deterrent to predators. This release acts as a smoke screen, while at the same time, adversely affecting the smell sensors of their predators. In a small environment, this ink could be toxic to the inhabitants. The color of the ink is white, purple or reddish, depending on the color of the pigments in their seaweed food source. Their skin contains a similar toxin that renders sea hares largely inedible to many predators.
Some sea hares can employ jet propulsion as a locomotory method, although without the sophisticated cognitive machinery of the cephalopods their motion is somewhat erratic.Image 1: GetAHugeTank.com.
Image 2: ColdWaterImages.com.
Image 3: Zazzle.com.
Image: Subject and photographer unknown.
Images: Subject and photographer unknown.
Like all wild creatures, it is important for a hare to keep itself clean and they are always grooming. This puts them at risk of ingesting chemicals sprayed on the land, especially because they like to keep their feet clean after being balled up with mud. The risk of chemical poisoning to hares has decreased, as pesticides are used more sparingly and are a lot safer, but paraquat is still often sprayed on stubble after the harvest to kill off any growth, and this can be harmful to hares.
Image: Subject and photographer unknown.
Brown hares have large golden-coloured eyes set on the side of their heads, providing them with almost 360 degree vision. Directly ahead of them is where they can see least. They have been known to kill themselves by running into an object or even each other because they have obviously been looking backwards at whatever was behind them rather than forward. This all-round vision means that from their hiding place they can view everything about them. It is a fallacy that hares never close their eyes. They shut them when they are fighting to avoid injury and also when they are dozing. In common with many other animals that are the prey rather than the hunter, they do not go into a deep sleep. They probably merely relax and nap.
Image: Subject and photographer unknown.
The hare is nocturnal and spends most of its day in a shallow form on the ground; and unless someone approaches very closely it will not move away from its resting place. Apart from the certain times of year, in the spring mating season or during the corn-harvest when hares are disturbed, there are few to be seen about the countryside. But you will frequently see them out at dusk or in the light of the moon, moving and feeding in the fields. If they have lain in the open or in the woods or reeds of a marsh for the best part of the day, they will come out into the open at night to feed and disport themselves.
Image: Subject and photographer unknown.
Hares are creatures of habit and use the same tracks and gaps in hedges, which has always made them easy for poachers with nets or snares. They also make good use of the unsown lines left in arable crops which are now such a part of modern farming practices. When they are chased they know exactly where they are heading. Image: "Hare in the Barley" by Bells of Suffolk.
Sea hares have soft bodies with an internal shell, and like all opistobranch mollusks they are hermaphroditic. Unlike many other gastropods, they are more or less bilaterally symmetrical in their external appearance. The foot has lateral projections, or "parapodia."
Some sea hares can employ jet propulsion as a locomotory method, although without the sophisticated cognitive machinery of the cephalopods their motion is somewhat erratic.
