Comments of Aplysia
Distribution:-
Aplysia is found in most parts of the world from the Arctis to the Antarctic. It is found in the West Indies,Florida, Coast, Asia(India).
Habit and Habitat: –
Aplysia is a marine gastropod found crawling in sea weeds. It is able to change its color according to the color of seaweeds on which it lives .
General character :-
1) Aplysia is commonly known as sea horse.
2) The body is soft and lumpy with a thin flexible plate-like shell almost completely covered by a mantle. The shell is internal.
3) Head hears two pairs of tentacles, the anterior being larger and ear-like, while the posterior pair is olfactory rhinophores, each bearing on the eye at its base.
4) Mantle cavity opens on the right side with the ctenidium pointing backwards.
5) Visceral mass is raised into a prominent hump.
6) Anus lies at the posterior end .
7) Aplysia feeds mainly on the sea weeds.
Economic Importance :-
Seahorses possess one of the largest neurons in the animal kingdom, so they are extensively used in the field of neurobiology to study the function of specific nerves, especially memory and learning behaviors .
Diagram of Aplysia
Aplysia