364. APLYSIID A. 
The Sea-hares are mixed feeders, living chiefly on sea-weed, 
but also devouring animal substances; they inhabit the lamina- 
rian zone, and oviposit amongst the weed in spring, at which 
time they are frequently gregarious.—ForseEs. ‘They are per- 
fectly harmless animals, and may be handled with impunity. 
When molested they discharge a violet fluid from the edge of 
the internal surface of the mantle, which does not injure the skin, 
has but a faint smell, and changes to wine-red. 
‘“‘ Wonderful tales used to be told of the more than poisonous 
qualities of the Aplysia. Pliny, #lian, and especially Aldro- 
vandi, collected all these absurd notions. One was that if the 
animal were touched, even with a walking-stick, the danger 
would be not less than from the look of a basilisk; another was that 
it caused baldness; anda third that pregnant women miscarried 
at the sight of this horrid creature. Cuvier has satisfactorily 
shown that Aplysia is quite harmless, and that it did not deserve 
the bad character given to it by the ancients; he says truly that 
fishermen have always had a fancy to attribute mischievous prop- 
erties to those marine animals which are of no use as the food 
of man. I would remark, however, by way of parenthesis, that 
the Aplysia is not quite inoffensive, as any one may be convinced 
by handling it; the smell is insufferably nauseous. This and its 
slabby appearance are certainly enough to take away the appetite 
of any civilized being. But Mr. Lesson states that one kind is 
eaten raw and esteemed a delicacy by the natives of the Society 
or Friendly Isles. The Aplysiz secrete occasionally a whitish 
slime. Spawn-case gelatinous, of a pinkish hue, thread-like, and 
irregularly convoluted ; ova white and very numerous, lying in 
the middle. The embryonic shell is globular; it becomes the 
apex in after-growth, being persistent,as in Teredo.”—J EFFREYS, 
Brit. Conch. 
PHYLLAPLYSTA, Fischer. 
Distr.—3 sp. Europe. P. ornata, Desh. (1xxxix, 69). 
Body flat, neck short, foot broad, natatory lobes small. Shell 
absent or horny (7). Teeth of radula tricuspid, blunt. Copulation 
reciprocal, as in Helix, not in multiple chains, as in true Aplysia. 
APLYSIELLA, Fischer. 
Distr.—2 sp. Europe. A. petallifera, Rang (1xxxix, 72). 
Aplysia, with the natatory lobes rudimentary as in Dolabella, 
the shell very thin. 
DoLABRIFERA, Grube. 
Distr.—4 sp. Indian-Ocean, West. America.. .D. Cuviert, 
Ads. (1xxxix, 73). EA a as lee Aoto. he oe 
Shell trapezoidal ; side-lobes not used for swimming. ~~ 
