Amphiatlantic: Florida to Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Gulf of Mexico; British Isles to at least Ghana, Azores to Mediterranean. Grazer in the upper infralittoral, often in intertidal grounds. Basionym: Laplysia fasciata. Many synonyms: gracilis, lobiancoi, marmorata, neapolitana, radiata, sicula, vulgaris, wilcoxi, winneba… and even alba or camelus…
Above: internal shell of an adult, collected at Cedeira, Provincia da Coruña, Galicia, NW. Spain. Original pictures provided by R. Kapeller for WoRMS, and copied there by courtesy of the author. Size: 69,3mm.
Above: internal shell of an adult, collected at Cedeira, Provincia da Coruña, Galicia, NW. Spain. Original pictures provided by R. Kapeller for WoRMS, and copied there by courtesy of the author. Size: 69,3mm.
« Totus niger, membranis & tentaculis margine coccineis. » – J. L. M. Poiret: Voyage en Barbarie vol. II, Paris 1789, page 2: the scarlett margined Laplysia… « Totus niger » but with scattered constellations of white dots.
Shallow water in Thau Lagoon, eastern end of the Canal du Rhône à Sète, Frontignan, Hérault, S. France. Original picture provided by S. Le Bris for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC).
« Shell rather solid, broad, obliquely subquadrate, tumid, arched, pale brown, testaceous within, lightly concentrically striped; apex elevated, incurved, callous; upper margin short, slightly excavated; outer lip convex, produced anteriorly; lower margin oblique, widely excavated; dorsal margin thickened, rather callous. » – G. B. Sowerby II: “Monograph of the genus Aplysia”, Conchologia iconica vol. 17, London 1870, plate V, species 17. « Shell to approx. 70 mm, […] truncated ear-shaped, practically without a distinct spire; sculpture: irregular growth lines, coarse, irregular radials, radials also inside distinct; shell thin; olive-brown, periostracum glassy, exceeding the shell margin; animal to 400 mm… » – R. Kapeller on European Mollusks Database.