Shaggy sea hare eggs.
Shaggy sea hare laying eggs.
Photos Phil Parr
Shaggy sea hare Bursatella leachi africana
Dwarf sea hare with eggs
Dwarf sea hareAplysia parvula
Photos by Guido Zsilavecz
Phil Parr sent SURG a question regarding a nudibranch egg string he found at Long Beach. It looked very similar to the egg string of the dwarf sea hare Aplysia parvula, which however normally is yellow to orange - it was thus thought that either it was a paler version of the eggs, or possibly a similar species. On a subsequent dive Phil managed to answer the question himself, as he discovered a shaggy sea hare Bursatella leachi africana laying eggs. In August this year SURG mentioned that the population of shaggy sea hares had exploded at Long Beach, and this is obviously the natural result of so many sea hares around!
For more details see "Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay", now available from SURG and better Cape Town dive shops.
Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay, G. Zsilavecz, 2007.
Nudibranchs of Southern Africa - a guide to the opisthobranch molluscs of southern Africa, T. Gosliner, 1987.