Aplysia depilans Gmelin, 1791
English Channel to Gulf of Guinea, Madeira into Mediterranean. Grazer in the upper infralittoral, often in intertidal grounds. The animal can reach 30cm in length. Synonyms: fragilis, laevis, leporina, lepus, major, melanopus, petersoni, polii…

Above: internal shell of an adult.
Cubelles, Tarragona, Catalunya, NE. Spain. 32mm.
A specimen pictured at low tide in the channel behind the Barra de San Luis, Ria Formosa, Faro, Algarve, S. Portugal.
Original picture: C. B. de los Santos for iNaturalist.
– (CC BY-NC-SA) –
Callelongue inlet, Les Goudes, south of Marseille, Provence, S. France. Original picture: slebris for gbif.org.
– (CC BY-NC) –
By night, Pointe de Saint-Gervais, Fos-sur-Mer, Bouches du Rhône, S. France. Original picture provided by slebris for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC).
Internal shell of a specimen from the Saronic Gulf, SE. Greece. 34,35mm. The presence of this animal indicates « healthy coastal ecosystems » (Les Veus de la Vall).
« Shell oblong, ovate, smooth, shining, radiately lightly grooved, testaceous within; apex incurved, reflected, slightly callous; upper margin excavated, reflected near the apex, cuneate at the end; outer lip slightly convex; dorsal margin convex; lower margin scarcely excavated. » – G. B. Sowerby II: “Monograph of the genus Aplysia”, Conchologia iconica vol. 17, London 1870, plate II, species 6.

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