Aplysiidae

Aplysiidae
Aplysia californica, a typical sea hare, shown here releasing a cloud of purple pigment, probably as a reaction to being disturbed.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Clade:	Euopisthobranchia
Clade:	Anaspidea
Superfamily:	Aplysioidea
Family:	Aplysiidae Lamarck, 1809
Genera
See text.
Synonyms
Aplysiinae Lamarck, 1809 · accepted, alternate representation Dolabriferidae (synonym) Dolabriferinae Pilsbry, 1895 · accepted, alternate representation Notarchinae Mazzarelli, 1893 · accepted, alternate representation

Aplysiidae is the only family in the superfamily Aplysioidea, within the clade Anaspidea.^[1] These animals are commonly called sea hares because, unlike most sea slugs, they are often quite large, and when they are underwater, their rounded body shape and the long rhinophores on their heads mean that their overall shape resembles that of a sitting rabbit or hare. Sea hares are however sea snails with shells reduced to a small plate hidden between the parapodia, and some species are extremely large. The Californian black sea hare, Aplysia vaccaria is arguably the largest living gastropod species, and is certainly the largest living heterobranch gastropod.